Growing Up A Weasley
by Mrs. H Potter
Summary: The story of what happens to everyone in my series of stories starting with Summer Lovin'. Sequel to California Bound.
1. Willa

**an: ok as promised, here is the first chapter of the final part of the long story that I started when I was fifteen and continued on for the past three years!! **

**So this story will just explain what happened to each of the Weasleys and some friends. I will try to be consistent with updating at least every week or every two weeks. **

**I know in California Bound I mentioned the names of the children but I've changed some a little bit so here is the updated information that you might have to refer back to. If you want I'll put it at the top of every chapter but let me know if you want it there!**

**The Weasleys and friends: **

**Ron and Hermione: Willa Elizabeth, Nolan Xavier, Ryen Michael; and Brenna Rose (everyone calls her Bren) **

**Harry and Ginny: Lily-Lyn, Emmaline Faye (more commonly referred to as Emma), James Sirius, Dane Harry, and Liam Remus (Dane and Liam are twins)**

**Fred and Angelina: Gabriel Fredrick (Gabe), Jennica Angelina, Henry George and Tyler Ronald (Henry and Tyler are twins)**

**George and Alicia: Amber Alexandra and Autumn Anne (twins), Lana Marie, Daniel Andrew and Donald Mitchel (twins)**

**Percy and Penelope: Gregory Phillip; Delaney Agnes; Sophia Hazel**

**Charlie and Alison: Maxwell Charles, Bennett Gideon, Kaleb Fabian, Antonia Alison**

**Bill and Fleur: Alexis Arthur (Lex) and Cecilia Molly (Cilley) (twins), Damon Luc**

**Tonks and Lupin: Penelope Nymphadora (Penny), Felicity Andromeda (Fee), Tabbitha Tonks (Tonks is her middle name…they call her Tabby)**

**Sasha and Trey: Harlow Katherine, Grier Riley, Trey Michael jr. (TJ) **

**Neville and Luna: Phineas Xenophilius, Obadiah Frank (Obie), Roman Neville, Leonardo Luno (Leo), Tallulah Alice **

**Draco and Pansy: Ella Lucinda, Tristan Draco Lucious, Gemma Narcissa, Ava Pansy.**

**Seamus and Lavender: Lilac, Sean**

**Dean and Parvati: Maddox, Saffron, Rhiahnon **

**Zacharis and Susan: Elijah, Evan, Emmett**

**Hannah and Ernie: Samuel**

**Hope you like it!**

_Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else. –Gloria Steinem _

_Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order. – Virginia Woolf_

Willa Elizabeth Weasley:

-When she was three, a new baby came to visit…and stayed. She didn't know why but this baby lived upstairs in her house in a big room that wasn't there before. Mummy and Daddy called him her little brother among other names. Willa wasn't so sure that she liked him. He stole her attention and cried a lot.

Not until she was four and he was one, did she discover that she, in fact, did like him. When none of her friends and cousins were over, Nolan was there, toddling after his big sister, listening to her explain the game that they would play.

He never quite got it right but he followed directions a little bit better than Mimi.

-When she was four and a half she acquired a scar on her right knee. She found herself lost in a game of dragons, snakes, and giant spiders, not realizing that she wouldn't land on her feet like Midnight and Mimi if she jumped from a platform on the playground.

She cried and cried from the sight of her wounded knee until Ron sat her down to patch her up and told her she now had a battle wound. He lifted the sleeves on his shirt and showed Willa that he too had battle wounds.

From then on, Willa proudly showed off her scar to anyone who hadn't seen it before. "I got this from fighting a dragon," she said. And then she would tell them the whole story about trying to find hidden treasure and getting attacked by a dragon…just like Ron did when he spoke about his adventures.

-When she was five, Mummy and Daddy brought another baby home. This one stayed too. He lived in a crib on one side of Nolan's room. Willa didn't know how he was her little brother if she already had Nolan.

She watched Nolan carefully for days after the new baby's arrival. She was afraid that he might disappear now that there was a new little brother here.

After Hermione told her that neither Nolan nor Ryen were going anywhere, she told Willa it was ok to talk to the baby before he fell asleep. Willa excitedly told the baby about her battle wound as he shut his eyes and fell asleep.

She decided that she would come up with a new story to tell him the next night before he fell asleep. Soon she was pulling anything from her imagination to tell her little brother before he went to sleep.

Willa figured that it was ok if the baby stayed at her house with her and Nolan. She liked telling him stories and she knew that he liked to listen to them.

-When she was six, she wanted to be an Auror. She wanted to live out all the adventures that she made up and take potions to change her appearance like Penny and Felicity could do on their own.

A week later she wanted to teach at Hogwarts where adventures loomed around every corner and no one knew what kind of enchantment you would meet in the next classroom.

A month later she was convinced that she wanted to play Quidditch professionally like Harry. For fun she signed plenty of papers for Nolan and Ryen to keep for when she got famous.

Another week later she was back on being an Auror.

-When she turned seven, she and her brothers packed their toys to spend a night at Nana's house. While Nana cooked dinner for them when it should have been breakfast time at Willa's home, the three started to play a game of hide and seek. They were having so much fun that while Willa was hiding under a table in the living room Nolan spooked her and she jumped up, knocking down Nana's favorite vase. They knew how mad Nana got when Ron moved something out of place. Willa took Ryen's hand and the three of them ran from the room, looking for another hiding spot.

A minute later the closet door opened and Nana's husband Louis stood outside the door. He let them know that they weren't in trouble, ruffled Nolan's hair and led them back to the living room where Nana was cleaning up pieces of her broken vase. Willa knew she was upset but Nana kept a placid expression on her face.

"If your father didn't let you do magic when you please, this wouldn't of happened," Nana said. Fully aware that Ron and Nana were not on good terms, Willa couldn't stop herself from yelling, "Don't talk about Daddy like that! It was my fault! He's not even here!"

For moments afterward Nana stared at her with her mouth hanging open. Willa didn't know that Nana saw too much of Hermione in her at that moment. What she did know that whenever she was around, Nana was slightly more tolerant of Ron.

Willa was always closer with Hermione than Hermione was with her own mother. Willa knew that she never wanted to have that kind of relationship with her mother like Hermione was with Ann.

-When she was eight, she and Lily made a pact. They promised each other that they wouldn't fall in love with the first or second person they dated, they promised each other that they would travel the world and live out any dreams they had before they finally settled down to get married.

As much as Ron and Hermione assured her that she was a blessing in their life at such a young age, Willa knew that she didn't want that kind of a blessing until she had done everything she wanted to do.

They never told anyone about their pact. It was between them and would stay between them, especially as they got into their teen years.

-When she was nine and ¾, she and her family went to a party at the Burrow for her cousins Cilley, Lex, and Penny. They were eleven and going to Hogwarts the next day. Lex bragged about all the fun he would have and Willa was reminded of her parents Hogwarts' stories and the few times she visited the large castle.

That day she and Lily concocted a plan with Penny and Cilley to stow away in their trunks. They were convinced that their plan would work out and they would all be sorted into Gryffindor before anyone realized they were gone.

They didn't account for Greg's strict behavior guidelines for his cousins and they were stopped by their parents before stage one of their plan could be put into action.

Willa was only a little sad to see Greg go the next year. She knew that there would be plenty of people for him to tattle on at Hogwarts.

-Four months before she turned ten, Ron and Hermione sat her down and told her that in a few months she would have another little brother or a little sister. She protested at first, after all she already had enough on her plate with Nolan and Ryen.

Seven months later, they were taken to the hospital to see their new sister. Secretly, Willa had always wanted a little sister to play with and share her "big sister wisdom" with.

For two whole weeks after Brenna came home, Willa worked diligently on a story book for her little sister. Every night she would sit in the rocking chair next to Bren's bed and read her a new story or retell an old one…unless she was at Lily's, then she did it over the phone because no one was allowed to see her story book but her and Bren.

-The day she turned eleven, she cried her eyes out because she missed Hogwarts by two months. No one understood what it was like to be in her shoes. She needed her freedom desperately. Nolan was no longer the playmate he once was, instead he worked on ways to annoy her and plant pranks when she wasn't expecting it; Ryen was learning to read more and more so he spent his time in the shade with a book in his hands; Bren was too little to do anything more than crawl around the back yard and find strange animals; Anna was already off at her school in northern California; and Lily was grounded for two months for trying to sneak onto the Hogwarts Express and almost making it.

That day she ran away from home for the first time in her life. She ran to the only place she knew how to get to, the beach. It only took Hermione five minutes to find out where she'd gone. Hermione cleaned Willa's face free of tears. "It's your birthday, and frowns are an unacceptable thing on a birthday," Hermione told her with a smile. She took Willa's hand and brought her to the car where she drove to Willa's favorite restaurant and then took her shopping.

Although she was still upset about Hogwarts, Willa was glad to come home after lunch to find Ron, Nolan, Ryen, and Bren around a birthday cake with eleven candles. She even let each of them help her rip open a present.

-A month after Willa got her Hogwarts letter she stood in front of her mirror and wondered aloud whether or not she was good enough to get into Gryffindor. The girl that stared back at her was eleven, almost twelve with pin straight light brown hair that fell to her shoulders. She was on the tall side for her age with a fit figure from all the Quidditch she played and the healthy food she ate. Her blue eyes sparkled back as she contemplated her placement in Hogwarts.

No one had ever questioned it before. It was always been "when you get into Gryffindor". It was something expected of her that she had never bothered to think too much about…until now.

"Of course you are!" a voice answered her and entered the room. Lily smiled back at her. "And if you don't, then we'll both get stuck in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff…together." Willa felt lucky to have a friend and cousin like Lily. It wasn't just anyone who could reassure her that she would not be alone in Hogwarts….

…no matter what house she got into.

-At King's Cross Station, two months before Willa turned twelve, Hermione cried. She held onto Willa tightly and part of Willa never wanted her to let go. The only thing that released her from her mother's comforting arms was knowing that Hogwarts was at the other end of the train tracks.

Ron squinted in the sun…Willa noted that it was a cloudy day. She squinted right back when she thought of her life at home that she would miss until summer came around. The only thing that prevented her from crying was knowing that the castle she's dreamed about was at the other end of the train tracks.

Nolan shuffled his feet and looked down at the ground. He tried to pretend like he didn't care but Willa knew that he would miss her just as much as she would miss him. Even though they had grown into a mutual agreement to annoy the hell out of each other, she had always been there in his life and she had always looked out for him. The only thing that made her move on after their goodbye was knowing that her independence waited at the end of the train tracks.

Ryen sniffled. He threw his arms around her and told how sorry he was for every prank her ever helped Nolan pull on her. She hugged him back and said that she knew he never meant it. She would miss him, even if he sometimes corrected her with knowledge he found in books. He would miss her even if she sometimes stopped listening to him when he told her about a book he read, and started listening to her music. The only thing that let her continue on was the source for her magic knowledge at the end of the train tracks.

Bren didn't cry, or squint, or shuffle her feet, or sniffle. With a happy smile on her face Bren hugged Willa back as she always did before Willa went anywhere. Willa was almost convinced that the two-year-old didn't know that she wouldn't be back until break but then Bren handed her a flower from her pocket and said, "fun time Wil-a!" and kissed her on the nose. The only thing that kept her feet moving from the safety of her family was Lily's shaking arm lopped through hers and knowing that many adventures for the two of them, lie at the end of the train tracks.

-When she was thirteen, she got into her first fight...with Ella Malfoy. It began when they crossed paths in the hallway after class. Ella made a comment and Willa retorted as usual. This time as they walked away, Ella bumped her shoulder. They turned around and glared at each other with a mutual hatred in their eyes. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

Willa made the first move. Ella had pushed her one too many times with her half-blood comments and "I'm better than you are" attitude. Ella stared in shock while Willa gaped at the red hand print she left on Ella's cheek. It spun out of control from there. Lex and Max had to pull her away from Ella while Tristan held Ella back.

She got detention for two weeks for the fight but she never regretted slapping Ella and showing her that you don't mess with Weasleys.

They taunted each other from a distance after that.

-At thirteen and ¾, Willa tried out for the Quidditch team now that the original Keeper had graduated. She practiced for weeks before tryouts, terrified that she wouldn't make the team after Lily had the year before.

She was nervous the whole time, but her Keeper skills held strong as she saved, one...two...three...four...five goals from coming in, and two were from her cousin Max, a fifth year...who did not go easy on her.

That night, she wrote to Ron proudly explaining how she made the team. She knew he had been waiting for this day even before she had.

-On her Christmas break when she was fourteen she let Ryen in on why everyone referred to him and Felicity as "Ron and Hermione all over again".

"You two fight about every little thing. You both try to act smarter than the other one." Willa said.

"So," Ryen replied.

"Mum and Dad fought like that when they were little."

"So."

Willa left it alone after that. She figured that one day when he found himself in love with the girl he constantly fought with he would know…and then she could say "I told ya so!"

-On her fifteenth birthday she had her first kiss. It was late and she was finishing off a book in the abandoned common room with Mimi in her lap. The portrait swung open, frightening her (after all it was Halloween where there had been spooks all day) and in walked Dempsey Wood who she had beaten out for Keeper. He didn't mind because, although his father was a famous Keeper, Chasing was the position he preferred. Willa had a feeling he missed that last one on purpose because he preferred Chasing.

He seemed just as surprised to see her up so late. She teased him about brushing up on his Quidditch skills while she gathered her stuff to head to the dormitory. He teased her about her muggle novel and she playfully shoved him. "Be nice, it's my birthday," she joked. She turned to go and nearly tripped, trying to avoid stepping on Mimi's tail. Dempsey caught her. "Easy there, you're gunna kill your cat," he said. She laughed nervously and straightened herself out. This was the most physical contact she's had with a person of the opposite sex. He looked nervous too.

Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his and he kissed her back. Many thoughts rushed through her head and even though she knew she felt nothing for Dempsey, she had, on a whim, decided that since she was fifteen she would have her first kiss with the first guy who "swept her off her feet".

After a few moments they backed away avoiding each other's gazes.

"Night," Willa said, hurrying to her dormitory. She stopped at the top and caught her breath, smiling. Something about the fact that no one knew or would know about her midnight kiss made it more exciting. She vowed that she would never tell a soul and hoped that Dempsey would do the same.

Two weeks later when Lily confessed her interest in Dempsey because they had so much in common (like that their fathers were both famous Quidditch players) and was planning on making a move, Willa felt slightly guilty but relieved that he had kept quiet.

-During her sixteenth year, and fifth at Hogwarts, Willa was subject to the cruel and unusual punishment of taking her O.W.L.s. The testing meant that she had to meet with Professor McGonagall and discuss her future, a topic she knew nothing about. Unfortunately she had grown out of her Auror phase when she was seven, teacher phase when she was eight, and her Quidditch phase when eleven. There were no more options for her.

She was told she would need to figure it out and pass all of her O.W.L.s. That year she considered starting up the D.A. again, not only because it would help her with the exams but because she couldn't think of anything else to help clear her mind from the stress this career search was putting on her.

Because it was too much work she decided against reforming the DA.

Hermione wanted her to find something to do, any career...any respectable career where she would be able to make enough money to support herself and save for her future.

Ron wanted her to work at the Gazette. He offered her any position available if she wanted to work in the family business.

Willa wanted to figure out her future on her own terms and in her own time not because her parents wanted her to do something or because she had a deadline for her O.W.L.s. So she skipped her meetings with McGonagall and ended up with all A's and one P on her exams.

-A year later, when she was seventeen, she became overwhelmed by the stress of life and chose to take the day off. She followed the usual route to the humpback witch statue which would lead her to Hogsmede but found that the passageway was blocked.

Stuck in a small dark area, she tried to feel her way back out or at least find her wand. Instead she ran into someone else in the room. His hand clamped around her mouth to keep her from screaming and he illuminated his wand. Willa was slightly relieved to see Elijah Smith who wasn't exactly her friend but he wasn't a teacher trying to get her in trouble either. He stood taller than her, smiling goofily, with a Chudley Cannons cap covering his blond hair and his light green eyes stared back at her as he explained that Nolan got caught in here and they closed the entrance up.

"Follow me, I know an alternative route but it's a little trickier," he said. Bemused, she followed and questioned him on why he wasn't in class. When he turned the question on her, she changed the topic and followed him to the Herald office. She was surprised to find that in the editor's office, behind a painting there was a secret passage that led to the England Gazette office in Hogsmede. After escaping before they were caught by Susan Bones-Smith in the lobby they hurried around to the alley and laughed when they realized they were free.

He almost walked away but something made her call to him...and that something made her invite him to wander through London with her. It was that same feeling that made her feel giggly all day and for some reason let her open up when Eli asked her why she was stressed. She couldn't help but smile inwardly when he told her that he too was fed up with choosing a future because his father wanted to choose his for him; he felt like he could open up to her.

Something happened that day, she didn't know what at the time but she was starting to feel something that she had never felt before.

-Two weeks later, she was stuck in detention for skipping school and lucky for her Eli was serving his sentence as well. It was a Friday night and Willa was overly distracted by the peculiar behavior that Nolan had just displayed in the hallway. He had slipped off to meet someone and by the looks of his combed hair and kempt appearance it was a girl.

"Ppsst! Weasley!" Eli said loudly. Alarmed she looked at Flitwick who had fallen asleep on the papers he was grading. She hoped that he wasn't drooling on her paper and turned to look at Eli's smiling face. "What are you in here for?" he joked. She laughed and smiled as he asked her how her career search was going.

For their two hours of detention they talked. Willa learned that Eli preferred broadcast journalism over print journalism but if his father had any say he would be working at the Gazette where he had the safety of a job. Willa confessed that she had never really enjoyed doing anything enough to pursue it as a career except reading.

That night he took the letter she was writing to Bren and claimed that she was born to be a novelist because no one else could have come up with such an interesting occurrence at Hogwarts that never really happened. She took what he said into consideration while she convinced him that he needed to do something that would make him happy, not his dad.

Two days later she began her first story.

Three days later she began helping him fill out an application for the London Wizard Entertainment station as an intern.

Neither of them told their parents in fear of their responses. To Hermione and Ron, Willa was going to college to figure it out. To Susan and Zacharis, Eli was following the plan.

-A month later Gryffindor was scheduled to play Hufflepuff. Competition was in the air, almost as much as when they played Slytherin. Willa flew around her goals, watching for the blur of yellow that was sure to come. And it did.

He flew for her and chucked the Quaffle. She caught it and threw it into the game again, giving him a sassy smile in return. Even the commentator, Lynn Jordan, noticed the "hot competition between Smith and Weasley". Gryffindor won only after Lily caught the snitch.

When she left the locker rooms that day, he was waiting for her. "Good game?" she asked with one eyebrow raised, waiting for his response. "Good game," he replied. And she couldn't help herself. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. His arms snaked around her waist and she had never before experienced such bliss.

-Six months later she was caught by Max and Greg and knew that she had to come clean to her family before they came clean for her. They were going to have to tell someone besides Lily and Samuel Macmillan.

Susan Bones-Smith was overly ecstatic that her son was involved with Willa Weasley. Zacharis Smith was pleased that he was dating someone with a good head on her shoulders but was still unaware that after Eli graduated, he was not going to be an intern at the England Gazette, instead he would start as an intern at the London Wizard Entertainment station.

Telling her family took more time. She chose Easter break to get it out in the open. Her mother and father were in the kitchen, making breakfast when she slid into a seat, trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Dad you know Zacharis Smith's son right?" she asked, trying to start out as casually as possible.

"Yeah Elijah." Ron answered. "I've read his work in the Herald. He's a decent reporter. Why do you ask?"

Willa took a deep breath. "Because we've been hanging out a lot." She watched Ron's muscles tense and Hermione look questioningly at her. "In fact, Mrs. Smith invited us over for brunch on Saturday which would be like early, early breakfast for us." She took another deep breath as she watched Ron react.

"Why?" Ron asked although it appeared to look like he already knew the reason. He needed the confirmation.

"Well, we've sort of been dating and his mum thought that we should all get together." Willa waited, preparing to flinch when Ron started yelling. After all he made it clear that she wasn't dating until she was thirty.

He paced around the kitchen for a few minutes. Hermione and Willa watched and waited. Soon Nolan, Ryen, and Bren were watching too. Then it came…just not how she thought it would.

"I need to meet this kid," he informed her. "I mean, again. I need to approve of him before we have any brunch. And I'm not sure he'll meet my standards." Willa knew this was hard on Ron but she appreciated that he didn't flip out on her.

At Friday night dinner, Eli passed everyone's approval but Nolan and Ryen's who didn't think he was good enough for their sister. At Saturday morning brunch, Ron and Zacharis got into an argument about whether or not this would have ever happened if Zacharis hadn't stuck with the Gazette and chose the Prophet.

Surprisingly it felt normal…and that felt good.

-When she was eighteen she became confused about love. Lily and Emma had just set Phinny up with Claire and he claimed to be in love already. Was it possible that he knew right away? Nolan had secretly been dating Gemma Malfoy and they recently broke up for reasons unknown. As surprised as she was by the news, what confused her more was the look that was gone in Nolan's eyes. Had he been in love even though he was only fifteen? The most important questions that plagued her were if she was in love and if this was love that she felt, was she breaking the pact?

It scared her but she couldn't help when the words spilled out of her mouth as they walked through a snowy Hogsmede. When he responded with the same way, she felt warmth flood through her stomach.

Lily was in an off and on relationship with Dempsey that had lasted three years already and it wasn't like she was getting married to Eli…this was her justification in continuing this relationship and not breaking the pact that she made when she was eight.

She still was convinced that she wouldn't settle down right away. This part of the pact she knew she wouldn't break.

-She graduated when she was eighteen, almost nineteen. The morning before she stared at herself in the mirror, noticing how much she had changed in seven years. Her light brown hair rested just above her shoulders, pin straight as ever although she had tried to curl it to look like her mother's graduation picture. Her face had grown more mature through the years and lately she had been smiling more, content with life the way it was. Her body had developed as well. She didn't look like an awkward eleven year old instead she looked like the adult she was. She wore a white sundress with white flats. She stared back into her Weasley Blues, trying to find the answer to the question she had been struggling with even before she found out what she would do with her life.

Was she ready for the real world?

Lily danced into the room laughing. It was a good day for her, she and Dempsey were back together after a three month split, she was finally getting out of Hogwarts and on to her job at Witch Chic magazine in London, and she was ready. Willa and Lily had been looking for an apartment somewhere in London. They had both been working for the past two summers to save up enough.

"We are graduating!" Lily sang. "And I am going to intern at a fashion magazine and you my dear are going to be a writer while working for a publishing company. We'll have an apartment in London. We are going to be livin' the good life!" Willa smiled, unable to help herself although she still had doubts. That's the kind of thing that being around Lily did, because Lily knew her, she was her best friend, and no matter what she would be there to help her deal with the real world.

-When she was twenty, she published her first book. It was unlike her mother's books and she made sure that people were aware. She wrote from her imagination not her memory.

She wrote a story about a witch who saw things that no other wizard could. She was different and the world through her eyes was quite the interesting tale to tell. Willa could spend hours living through this girl in her words and never get bored.

Eli supported her through her book. He was there for her and had been for the past three years…she avoided thinking about how much she cared for him and loved him, although she couldn't help herself when she sometimes wondered if she could spend the rest of her life with him. She cared too much for him and it scared her.

Sometimes she thought of Lily and herself as eight-year-olds, holding out their hands and promising that they wouldn't marry the first guy they dated.

And then she looked over at Eli as he made her dinner in his apartment while she talked through her writer's block with him.

She couldn't picture herself living without this man.

-When she was twenty-one she watched Dempsey Wood get down on one knee and propose to her cousin after an on and off relationship of six years. The only one she could bring herself to look at as Lily turned him down was Eli. He watched Dempsey, who had become a good friend, with pity. Lily ran from the room and Willa tore her eyes away to follow, wondering just how long it would be before she had to make a choice like this.

Unable to bear the thought of running into Dempsey, Lily fled to Paris after she turned him down. She left Willa with an empty bedroom and a head full of questions.

It didn't help when Eli asked her about Lily's response. "She wasn't ready for it." Willa answered. She turned around to face him as she paced the apartment and he sat on the couch. "Our parents, our aunts and uncles, and our grandparents got married so young and Lily and I always knew that we didn't want to be the same. We didn't want to be burdened with a family when we had lives to live." She stared at him, waiting for his response.

"I understand." Eli replied. "I've always thought that I wouldn't settle down too early. It's just, they were so in love. They always went back to each other even after the ninth and tenth break-up." He still looked confused but all Willa heard was the first half of the sentence. She felt relieved.

It was a compromise until she would have to face reality.

-During her twenty-second and twenty-third year, she took a lot of trips. Some were with Eli, others with Lily, one she even took Bren but every time she always found herself missing home.

Finally, as she returned from the latest trip to Australia, she came to realize that traveling wasn't her thing. Right in her apartment in London with Mimi and Eli or at the house she grew up in, in California with her family, those were the places she belonged. After that last trip, she never traveled for the purpose to travel again.

Her next book was about a witch, searching for a home, the place where she belonged and felt comfortable. It turned out to be right where she started.

-As she turned twenty-four she came face to face with something she had been struggling with since she first discovered she was in love.

"Where is this going?" Eli asked. She was caught off guard and dropped the stack of papers she held.

"G-going?" she questioned.

"Yes." Eli stared at her with his intense green eyes and explained himself. "I love you Willa. But what are we doing? Are we taking this somewhere or have we just been passing the time with each other. I'm not asking you to marry me, but I'd like to know that eventually we could end up there."

Willa looked at him, her eyes already forming tears. "Why do we have to talk about this now?" she turned her head but he brought her eyes back to his.

"Tell me that you love me." Eli said. "…and that we're going somewhere."

"I love you." Willa said, telling the truth. "But can't we keep things as they are? Why do we have to define what we will be in the future if we're in the present?"

"Because I don't want to look like Dempsey a few years from now." Eli said coldly. "I don't want to be the fool who proposed because he's in love and come to find out that I was just someone to fool around with who can be replaced just like that."

"I love you," she said again. A fountain of tears poured from her eyes. His green eyes glistened as if he were on the verge of crying.

"I know you do but you never answered my question," he said. She didn't answer. She couldn't. She didn't know what to say to that. Her silence spoke louder than her words. He shut his eyes, nodded his head and leaned down to kiss her once again.

She found herself frozen in place as she watched him get his jacket and leave. As the door closed shut she fell to her knees and sobbed harder than she ever had in her life.

-Four weeks later a healer at St. Mungo's confirmed that she was eight weeks along. With her face frozen in a surprised look, she left the healer's office, not wanting to hear anymore.

For the second time in her life she "ran away from home". She found herself, wandering the beach a whole ocean away, barefoot. This time Hermione hadn't come to take her to lunch and make things better. She was an adult and alone…all because of her fears and insecurities.

For as long as she could, she put her life on pause and hid at the beach. At one a.m., England time, she stood outside the door to Eli and Sam Macmillan's apartment. Twice already she had lifted her fist to knock but chickened out both times. With a deep breath she knocked and waited.

He proposed to her after she told him. She said no automatically without having to think about it. Just because she was thrown into this situation, did not mean she was getting married. Feeling like "the fool" he promised that he would be a part of his unborn child's life.

Hermione wanted her to reconsider Eli's offer, "he loves you and you love him. You guys are good together and you're having a child." To Willa, it wasn't that simple and thankfully Hermione didn't push it.

Susan gave Eli her grandmother's ring and begged him to ask again. "You're having a child together, you should be together." It wasn't that simple either but Susan pushed it whenever she could.

Ron respected Willa's decisions and respected Eli for doing everything he could to help. His unborn grandchild was going to be in good hands with two capable parents.

Zacharis went out and bought his unborn grandchild a set of soft Quidditch toys for his unborn grandchild. He couldn't wait for a baby to be back in the house again.

The lingering feelings were hard to overcome but the expanding bump was a reminder of the life changing event that would soon occur…and she didn't need to add more drama to that…too much was happening in Willa's changing life.

Eli was there for every step. He was overjoyed as the months went on. He was really starting to get used to the idea of becoming a father.

She never really felt anything for the life growing inside of her. It was always "the baby" or "it". She didn't really want to feel anything towards this thing that was causing such commotion and disruption in her normally calm life.

-When she was twenty-five she fell in love for the second time. Finley Faith Smith-Weasley was the most beautiful little girl in the world with big blue eyes and her father's blond hair. When Willa looked into the blue eyes of the little person she helped make and held inside her for nine months, she couldn't help but feel love for this child, and wanting to give her all of her love.

Eli was brought to tears by the sight of his daughter. As he held her, Willa watched him and smiled while he held Finley Faith and promised her the world because he loved her so much.

Ron was brought to tears by the sight of his granddaughter. He told Finley Faith that he would spoil her like crazy.

Hermione was brought to tears by the sight of her baby's baby that she had loved for the past seven months. She had been there the entire birth, holding Willa's hand (the one that Eli wasn't holding).

Lily was brought to tears by the sight of her goddaughter. She came with a selection of dresses for Finley Faith's return home, promising that she would always be there for her.

Nolan, her proud twenty-two year old brother, was brought to tears by the sight of his godchild and niece. He cracked some jokes to her, trying to get her to smile or laugh for the first time.

Ryen was brought to tears by the sight of his little niece. He said that she would be able to work at the Gazette with Uncle Ryen and Grandpa when she got older and he would teach her anything worth knowing.

Bren was brought to tears at the sight of Finley Faith, the niece she would be babysitting, any chance she got. She claimed that she was already working on trying to get Finley her own hippogriff.

Zacharis and Susan were brought to tears by their first grandchild. They would be the slightly stricter set of Grandparents, but they loved Finley Faith just as much.

What Finley Faith did to people was amazing. Everyone who saw her and held her was a different person with her. Even Dempsey Wood, the Quidditch player who rarely showed emotion anymore, was moved after holding his friends' daughter. Finley Faith helped bring Lily and Dempsey back together that day.

When the room cleared after Finley went down for her nap and it was just Willa and Eli left, they stared at each other for a while, not saying anything. There was so much to say but they didn't really know where to start. She moved over on the bed and let him lay next to her. They fell asleep like that.

-Three years one month and eleven days later Willa and Eli were married, not because they had a child together, not because of any childhood pact or because her fears and insecurities were gone but because she loved him, she loved her daughter and she was going to spend the rest of her life with him.

**What did you think? Review PLEASE!! Nolan's chapter is next!**


	2. Nolan

**an: hello again! Ok here is the second chapter. I think I'll try and update at least once a week but we'll see how the story comes along. I promise though, that I will not stop until it's finished!!**

**I'm also going to put the character info up again:**

**The Weasleys and friends: **

**Ron and Hermione: Willa Elizabeth, Nolan Xavier, Ryen Michael; and Brenna Rose (everyone calls her Bren) **

**Harry and Ginny: Lily-Lyn, Emmaline Faye (more commonly referred to as Emma), James Sirius, Dane Harry, and Liam Remus (Dane and Liam are twins)**

**Fred and Angelina: Gabriel Fredrick (Gabe), Jennica Angelina, Henry George and Tyler Ronald (Henry and Tyler are twins)**

**George and Alicia: Amber Alexandra and Autumn Anne (twins), Lana Marie, Daniel Andrew and Donald Mitchel (twins)**

**Percy and Penelope: Gregory Phillip; Delaney Agnes; Sophia Hazel**

**Charlie and Alison: Maxwell Charles, Bennett Gideon, Kaleb Fabian, Antonia Alison**

**Bill and Fleur: Alexis Arthur (Lex) and Cecilia Molly (Cilley) (twins), Damon Luc**

**Tonks and Lupin: Penelope Nymphadora (Penny), Felicity Andromeda (Fee), Tabbitha Tonks (Tonks is her middle name…they call her Tabby)**

**Sasha and Trey: Harlow Katherine, Grier Riley, Trey Michael jr. (TJ) **

**Neville and Luna: Phineas Xenophilius, Obadiah Frank (Obie), Roman Neville, Leonardo Luno (Leo), Tallulah Alice **

**Draco and Pansy: Ella Lucinda, Tristan Draco Lucious, Gemma Narcissa, Ava Pansy.**

**Seamus and Lavender: Lilac, Sean**

**Dean and Parvati: Maddox, Saffron, Rhiahnon **

**Zacharis and Susan: Elijah, Evan, Emmett**

**Hannah and Ernie: Samuel**

**Hope you enjoy it!!**

Nolan Xavier Weasley:

_Anything is possible if you've got enough nerve. –JK Rowling_

_A joke is a very serious thing. –Winston Churchill_

Nolan Xavier Weasley:

-When he was one, he wanted to be just like his big sister. She was four and knew everything that there was to know. So she taught him what he needed to know. He listened to her and tried to imitate how she spoke when she told a story or explained a game. She made up tons of games for the two of them to play together, even when they couldn't go outside.

Willa was his best friend. Even when she played with Lily and Anna, she included him in her games. He toddled after them, excited to hang out with four-year-olds.

He felt special when he could play the same games that the older kids could play.

-When he was two, he got a brother. Mummy and Daddy said that Nolan was a big brother now and he had to look out for Ryen. Nolan was excited to finally be a big brother to someone who would follow him around.

But Ryen didn't do anything but eat or sleep or cry. He was too little to play with. What was the point of having a little brother if he wasn't going to follow you around?

It happened a few months after Ryen came home; Nolan was making faces at his brother for his own entertainment and Ryen let out a tiny laugh. It was the first laugh. Nolan made another face and Ryen laughed some more.

Making Ryen laugh was more fun than being followed around.

-On his third birthday, Uncle Harry bought him a toy broom. Mummy made it clear that he was only to play with it if she or Daddy was around. When they were cutting the cake, Nolan mounted his broom just like Uncle Harry did. And off he went.

He didn't go far but he knocked over a pile of presents and flew into the table, knocking the cake on top of himself. He laughed and laughed from the fun that he had while Mummy tried to clean him up and reprimand him for not following her rules.

He tried again because it was fun to break the rules but he didn't make it as far the next time.

-When he was four he discovered how to properly use Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products. He and Ryen took the bag of tricky tarts and switched them with Willa and Lily's candy then they went down to the living room to pretend they were watching TV the entire time.

Five minutes later, there were two very loud shrieks from Willa's room. They ran down the stairs, both looking equally ridiculous with blue faces and green hair. Hermione worked her magic to set them right but even she got a chuckle out of it.

From that day on, Nolan carefully planned pranks so that he and Ryen could get a good laugh out of bugging Willa.

-When he was five he and Gabriel were lucky enough to stumble upon a portable swamp in Fred and George's old bedroom. While deciding what to do with it, the swamp was accidentally set off in the living room in the Burrow.

He and Gabriel ran from the scene of the crime, laughing and covered in swamp goo. They knew they were in trouble but they had fun and as five-year-olds, it was the fun and laughing that mattered.

That day, Grammy declared that they were the next generation of Fred and George.

-One weekend when he was six, Ron took him to Paris. They stopped for ice cream on _Ruelle Cachée_ before they would go meet Ginny and pick up Lily, Emma, and James to spend the night. On the way out they ran into two people.

Nolan noted that his father didn't seem to like this man and this man didn't seem to like his father. A little blond girl with brown eyes, hid behind the man. She looked to be about six too.

"Malfoy." Ron said coldly.

"Weasley." Malfoy said coldly.

Nolan looked up at his father and then at the man. Ron took his hand and led him out of the ice cream shop. Ice cream dripped down Nolan's hand but instead of eating it, he turned back to look at the girl who was "probably just another Malfoy" to his father.

To him she looked nice and kind of pretty.

-When he was seven he had already decided what he wanted to be when he grew up. He stood up in front of everyone at the Sunday Burrow gathering and announced that he would be a comedian one day and he wanted to write comics too because they made people laugh.

Making people laugh was something that Nolan loved to do. He always said funny stuff to make people laugh and when he set gags off, he hoped that he could manage a laugh out of it somehow.

Hermione informed him that he would be the world's best comedian and she would buy every comic strip he wrote.

He started a comic book about a talking owl just for her. When she read it she genuinely laughed and knew that he really would be a comedian one day.

-The January before he turned eight, Ron and Hermione brought a baby sister home. She was very small but she was the only other one in the house who had red hair besides him and Ron. She was just like Ryen was at first, crying and sleeping all the time.

Ron took Nolan aside and told him that he had another sister to look out for. Nolan, who didn't take much seriously, took this responsibility very seriously. Willa was older than him so he couldn't watch out for her too much but Brenna was little and she needed someone to watch out for her. Nolan knew that it was his duty as Bren's oldest big brother, to make sure nothing scared or hurt her.

He dragged Ryen along and they hid in Bren's closet while Willa told Bren stories. He felt like an Auror on a special mission when he made sure he was protecting his sisters from danger.

Once he was even able to help get Bren to stop crying by finding her favorite stuffed hippogriff. He was the hero.

-When he was nine, Willa went to Hogwarts, leaving him to be the oldest. Bren was almost two and Ryen was seven. Bren was always playing with the animals in the back yard and Ryen was always at the Gazette office with Ron. He felt like he didn't understand how to be the oldest like Willa did. He missed her.

She had been gone for a week before he realized how much he missed having her around the house to annoy and prank non stop. But mostly, he missed her because their family wasn't quite complete without Willa there, telling one of her stories.

He was always the first to get her letters when they came every week.

When she came home for Christmas, he was overjoyed to sit and listen to her stories and then play games with her like they had when they were younger.

He only pranked her once when she was home.

-When he was ten, he and James got into a big fight. It was a row heard throughout the Burrow. Nolan wasn't quite sure how the argument about Falcons vs. Cannons escalated into something this big but he was too stubborn to back down.

No one understood why he and James didn't get along. Ron and Harry were best friends with only one major fall out to report but for some reason Nolan and James couldn't manage to ever coexist peacefully.

"Spider!" James taunted. Nolan flinched, automatically and James laughed.

"Careful with what you say or I might just have to pummel you into the ground." Nolan said, embarrassed for flinching. James started to run but Harry caught him and Ron stood next to Nolan with a grip on Nolan's shoulder.

"What's this about?" Ron asked. Nolan had too much pride to let the adults in on it but James didn't see it the same way.

"Nolan said that the Falcons weren't going to make it to the Cup!" James said.

"I was just teasing him but he kept it going!" Nolan glared at James. Ron and Harry shook their heads.

They couldn't understand the clashing personalities that Nolan and James had.

-Only a few weeks after his eleventh birthday, he was off to Hogwarts. Nolan was fully prepared to follow in Fred and George's footsteps with his best friend Gabriel by his side. They were in the process of working on a prank that was worthy of Fred and George's last one at Hogwarts…well one that wouldn't get them expelled and sent home to his devastated mother.

"You're a smart boy." Hermione told him and she hugged him at the platform. "Just study and do your work. You've got a strong Gryffindor name. Nolan means noble. I know you'll do well." Even so, she started to tear up. She kissed his forehead and he squeezed his blue eyes shut to prevent any tears from coming. He moved along to his father.

"Nervous?" Ron asked. Nolan shook his head but he was very nervous. He had never spent more than a few days away from home before. "You'll be fine." Ron assured him. "For your Mum's sake, don't get in too much trouble. She's already worried that you've got some big prank for the welcome feast." Nolan reached in his pocket to touch the smoke bomb that was for later. Ron winked and gave him a hug before he ruffled Nolan's ginger locks. He turned to his little brother.

"Bye!" Ryen threw his arms around Nolan. Nolan hugged him back.

"Make sure you take care of Bren here ok? I'll keep an eye on Willa at school but you've got to watch Bren and be the big brother." Nolan informed him.

"I promise." Ryen said, getting a little sad. Nolan ruffled Ryen's hair and turned to Bren.

"No go!" she exclaimed. Nolan laughed and picked her up to hug her.

"I'll be back B, I promise." He kissed her forehead and handed her a small stuffed owl so she wouldn't cry.

"Come on, we're going to be late!" Willa exclaimed. She pulled on Nolan's arm and he looked back at his family one more time before he picked up his owl, Chip, in his cage. Hermione was crying, Ron looked sad to see his son go, Ryen was trying to be strong for Bren, and Bren was playing with her own owl that looked a little bit like Hedwig.

He waved one last time before following Willa onto the train.

-When he was twelve, he made it his mission to annoy Snape. Any chance he got, he would play a prank or smart mouth the greasy potions teacher. One particular prank, shortly after the start of term, involved a trick wand that began to beat Snape over the head.

He ran from class and hid in what he thought was an unused classroom. To his surprise, a blond girl with big brown eyes sat on one of the desks, doing homework. Gemma Malfoy looked up at him in confusion as he darted behind a bookshelf. He knew that if Snape came in here, a Malfoy would rat him out in a second but if he was lucky, Snape wouldn't think to look here.

"What are you doing?" she questioned. It was more curiosity than accusation like he thought it would be.

"Hiding." Nolan answered. At that moment the door burst open and a red faced Snape ran in with a trick wand still following him.

"Weasley?" Snape questioned, furiously. Gemma delicately shook her head, trying not to laugh and Snape was gone with the slam of a door. Nolan was too surprised to move at first. He watched Gemma as she laughed at the door.

"Thanks." Nolan said, slowly leaving his hiding spot. She nodded and turned back to her homework, still smiling. He looked at her once more, surprised to speak to a Malfoy who didn't taunt him for being half-blood or rat him out and then ran out of the room.

From the way Ron, Willa, and Harry had spoken about Malfoys, he expected her to be snooty and rude but she was actually sort of…nice…

-At thirteen, Nolan decided to use his joke material on an actual audience. During the parties in the Common Room, after Quidditch matches, Nolan set himself up in front of everyone and began telling jokes.

The only one who didn't laugh was Sean Finnegan…but mostly because he was the butt of the joke.

Some Gryffindors quoted him, others claimed he was brilliant but Nolan was able to figure out one thing: he loved the attention and laughs that he got when he joked in front of a crowd.

It was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

-When he was fourteen he got high marks in all of his classes. To even out his good marks and his reputation, he challenged Sean Finnegan to a duel and was the one who got caught, landing himself in detention.

When he arrived, late as usual, he was glad to see that "Ol' Flitwick" was there, who wouldn't hear if he turned his music all the way up. He did a double-take when he saw a pretty blond girl with big brown eyes sitting at one of the desks, mindlessly drawing.

"What are you doing here?" he couldn't help but ask. In Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration she was the perfect student. He would have never expected to find her in detention.

She seemed put-off by his rude question but she answered it with a smile, anyways. "Minnie Mullen was being very loud while I was trying to study so I cursed her mouth shut," she answered.

A half smile formed on Nolan's face. He sat two rows behind her and after a half hour he got up the nerve to talk to her again.

"Why aren't you mean to me?" Nolan questioned. She spun around to face him and looked a little angry. "You know, cuz my dad doesn't like your dad and my sister fought your sister." They had only spoken one time before their detention but even so, there seemed to be something different about this Malfoy.

"Why should I be?" she countered. "Why aren't you mean to me?"

He couldn't answer her question because he didn't know himself. Instead he started up a conversation with her.

When he left detention that night, he knew that he would never classify her as "a Malfoy" like he had before he met her. She was different.

-A month later he found himself in detention with her again. It was the tenth time in a month. Nolan was starting to get suspicious of "the perfect student" and how she seemed to only have detention when he did. He didn't question it too much because he liked her company and enjoyed talking to her. She was even the perfect person to test his new jokes on.

He loved making her laugh because he loved her laugh.

On the way out of detention, she followed him out of the door and as they were turning to part Gemma pushed him up against the wall and planted a kiss directly on his lips in a moment of spontaneity. A moment later, she pulled back and looked at him. He didn't respond immediately so she turned to go.

He held on to her arm and pulled her back to him.

-Two months later, they found an empty classroom to meet in, rather than risking the detention limit. She would tell him about her dreams of opening up her own French café somewhere in London. He would tell her jokes just to hear her laugh.

Sometimes they would sneak up to the Astronomy Tower to watch the stars and point out constellations.

Other times they would sneak off from their friends in Hogsmede and meet up.

No one knew about their relationship. If people knew it would get complicated. Gryffindors and Slytherins didn't mix…especially not Weasleys and Malfoys.

But Nolan and Gemma were different from the other Weasleys and Malfoys.

-The summer before he was fifteen, he was stuck in California while she was in Paris. In an effort to be closer, Nolan planned to spend a week during the summer at Harry and Ginny's…with James.

Everyone was suspicious of his stay in Paris. Ron tried to talk to him but got nothing out of him, Hermione wasn't sure whether or not he was up to trouble or really did want to spend the week in Paris…a city which he disliked desperately.

Nonetheless, they let him go. Willa was curious of his behavior and almost figured it out, Ryen walked in on them snogging two days before school was over so he knew but was keeping it quiet, and Bren thought that he was planning a big prank on James.

He saw Gemma every day that week. Somehow he was able to slip away from the Potter's place and spend an hour with Gemma in Paris.

Only Ginny noted how happy he was after he came back to the Potter house, and only she figured out that it was a girl he was seeing.

She didn't confront him or tell anyone, she knew what it was like to have a secret relationship like that.

-When he was fifteen, he felt his heart shatter into a million pieces and he wasn't quite sure that they would fit together the same way again.

"We can't." Tears streamed down her face as they stood on top of the astronomy tower. "My brother saw us, he told your sister, and I'm pretty sure he's telling my sister. It's a mess Nolan. We said we were only good together because no one else knew. They know, we have to end it before our parents find out."

He didn't know what to say. He looked at her with pleading eyes but she just cried harder.

"I-I…" she didn't know what to say next. Instead she kissed him on the cheek, leaving her tears and hurried back down the stairs.

He was frozen in shock and heartbreak. He cared for her a lot. She was the one person who understood why he pulled pranks, and loved to make people laugh. He understood that she was not like her family; she had to beg the sorting hat to put her in Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw. He understood that she had a passion for whatever she was doing at the moment and he loved that about her.

-When he was sixteen, his heart was mended just enough so he could ask Lizette Corner out when she expressed interest in him. She was pretty and sort of smart, she was nice but it was different.

Three months later he dated Olivia Milan and found that it was easier as he went on. He didn't find it easier when he discovered that Gemma was dating Dylan Nott. Ultimately it led to the end of his relationship with Olivia.

He couldn't understand why he was so hung up on someone who he was supposed to hate. Willa could hate Tristan just fine without any non platonic feelings getting in the way. Why was it so difficult for him?

-When he turned seventeen, he finally told Ron about his secret relationship with Gemma. Rather than be furious with Nolan for even thinking about a Malfoy like that (as Nolan had expected), he was actually understanding.

When the conversation was over, and Ron went to go take a walk (it was a lot to take in and react calmly about), Nolan finally felt like he could put his relationship with Gemma in the past and move on from it. She was his first love and first relationship, her memory would stick with him forever but he needed to move on.

He started his last year of Hogwarts and on the second day, became acquainted with a seventh year Hufflepuff, Makayla Williams. It only took two weeks for them to begin dating. She was pretty, smart, and she laughed at his jokes.

He had finally moved on.

-Three months before he turned eighteen, he graduated from Hogwarts. Of course he and Gabriel planned the ultimate prank to go out with a bang when there was no chance of being expelled and they "passed down the torch" letting Danny and Donny in on it too.

The night after he graduated Gabriel, Obie, and Nolan moved into their new flat in London, above a bar. It was open mic night and he was pushed onto the stage by his new roommates and girlfriend.

The owner of the bar invited him for a permanent Saturday night comedy spot to earn some extra cash…but he would have done it for free.

Ron arranged for him to intern at the England Gazette and learn how newspaper writing was supposed to go so that Nolan could write comics. This job lasted a week before he quit and found a job working for _Merlin's Pants_, a magazine dedicated to making fun of everything.

His life was starting to come together for him, after Hogwarts and he was enjoying it.

But when Makayla told him that she loved him, he couldn't find the words to respond…he really didn't love her.

-When he was nineteen, he was able to witness something he never thought possible: by some rare occurrence, the Chudley Cannons made it to the playoffs. It was a big family event when they played the Falcons, even Eli was invited to attend. Unfortunately Willa was running late so Ryen and Nolan were forced to drive with Eli to the location of the match.

Neither of them were too fond of Eli. After all, he was dating their sister and laughed at their threats. Nolan had a small feeling that Willa was purposely running late so that her brothers and boyfriend could bond.

Nolan hated that he actually sort of ended up liking Eli…and Ryen did too. They had more in common with him than they thought and Eli really cared for their sister.

At the match when he saw Willa and Eli joking together out of the corner of his eye, he knew that he wanted to find his love, someone who fit right into the family like Eli fit in.

The next two women he dated, never fit in just like that. He almost gave up hope.

-When he was twenty, he hurried through the cold London streets to meet Hermione for lunch at her favorite restaurant in London that happened to be blocks away from his apartment…and a muggle restaurant. On his way to be on time, he ran past _Café de Gemme_ and stopped.

He inspected the eloquent French décor and wondered curiously why the café seemed so familiar if this was the first time he was passing it. Someone held the door open for him and he ventured into the warm café.

Dimly lit, writers at tables working on novels, colorful pastries behind a glass counter…where had he heard the description of this place before?

It hit him as he saw her. He could almost hear the words flow from her mouth as if it were five years ago and she was telling him about her dreams all over again. She stopped, frozen in disbelief while she poured a cup of coffee. Dark liquid ran over the counter and splashed onto the floor but her big brown eyes stayed focused on his.

"Hi," he said as if they hadn't stopped speaking five years ago, as if she had always been on his mind the past three years, as if she weren't surprised to see him.

"Hi," she replied while color rushed to her cheeks and she bent down to clean her mess.

"So are you the janitor here?" he joked. Her laughter filled the loud room and he couldn't help but smile. It sounded nice to hear that laugh again.

He was late to lunch but he stayed and helped her clean up.

And then he came back the next day.

-A month later he was addicted to caffeine…or at least the pretty blond who owned the café. He worked on his assignments for _Merlin's Pants_ at the café or he just talked to her. She laughed when she read his work and he listened to her talk about her café and anything that was on her mind.

He realized how much he had missed her lively spirit…as much as she had missed his jokes.

They both spoke about their past relationship as a childhood fling that led them to this friendship but they knew there was something deeper, a connection that was established during those nights in detentions or rainy afternoons hidden in a classroom.

She made the "second first move" again. He was the last customer, enchanted in a conversation with her about her father hating the café and wishing that she was like Ella and Tristan, getting a job in a "proper place".

"Tell him to shove off." Nolan said. "Want me to? I'll tell him he's being an ass!"

And she grabbed the collar of his shirt, meeting their lips, old feelings rushed back and new ones sent shivers up his spine.

They spent their first night together after the kiss in the café.

-A year later, when he was twenty-two, his relationship was taking a serious route. Gabriel and Ryen knew about Nolan and Gemma (…again) but other than that she was the "mystery girl" to his family.

On Ron's birthday he promised to bring "Mystery Girl" along with him. When he showed up in California with a Malfoy on his arm, mouths dropped but somehow Hermione seemed to lighten the mood by welcoming "the girl who can make my son smile like that" into the family with open arms. She brought Gemma with her to the kitchen where they bonded over their stories of Nolan's odd habits.

"I like her," Hermione said. "There's something different about her…nice different." She smiled and hugged Nolan. "Hold onto her. You two are good together."

Ron's reaction was hard to figure out. He was polite to Gemma and treated her just like he treated Nolan's other girlfriends but there was some sort of distrust towards "the Malfoy". It soon disappeared, though, when he got to talking to her about Quidditch.

"You picked a good one Nole," Ron said. "Even if she is a Tornados fan."

Willa wasn't too fond of any Malfoy. She made it a point to avoid conversation with the former Slytherin until Gemma, who was warned about Willa's behavior, started a conversation with her about her book. Slowly, Willa started warming up to "the friendly Malfoy".

"Don't screw this one up." Willa whispered to Nolan as she hugged him before he left.

Ryen met Gemma briefly and hadn't spoken to her since. If he didn't speak to her, he could pretend she didn't exist, therefore there would be no secret to keep. Now she was here and talking to him about the Gazette. When they started discussing controversial articles in the morning's paper, he decided that she wasn't too bad.

"I'll overlook the fact that she thinks my Unicorn Hunting article was insensitive only because she liked my Dementor editorial. She's not bad." Ryen informed Nolan.

Bren wasn't impressed by little things. She didn't buy Gemma's sweet tone or praises on the little animal clinic she had going on at Hogwarts. Gemma was a Malfoy, specifically sister of Ava who was two years above Bren in school. There was no way that she could really be that nice. But a week later when she received a package in the mail at Hogwarts she started to change her feelings. A note fell from the inside of _Animals A-Z_, a new copy of Bren's favorite book that was recently lost.

_Nolan mentioned it was missing. Hope this helps._

_Gemma_

Bren decided that no one who was really as mean as Ava, would take time to do something this nice.

Nolan felt relieved when his family accepted Gemma. She fit into their family in the way he never thought she could.

All that mattered to him was that no one cared that her last name was Malfoy.

-When he was twenty-two, he became an uncle and godfather to Finley Faith. She was the most adorable little baby and he loved her. He knew he would take her to Quidditch games and out for Ice Cream when Grammy 'Mione wasn't looking. He was going to enjoy being a godfather.

As he watched Gemma sleep when they returned from the hospital he got the idea in his head that he couldn't live without her. He knew she was the one by the way she held his goddaughter and claimed that she had the same tiny freckle under her eye that he had. Nolan couldn't stand to live without the woman who stood by his side while tears dripped down his face and didn't say a word. She was it.

Two weeks later, he knelt down on the floor in her café with a ring in his hands, asking her to be his wife and spend the rest of her life with him.

He had never been happier than the moment when she said yes.

-He was twenty-three when he stood at the end of the aisle and watched her walk towards him in a beautiful white dress. He had butterflies in his stomach but he waited patiently for her to stand in front of him. He vowed to love her for the rest of his life. She vowed to love him for the rest of her life.

Just like that, they were man and wife.

Draco Malfoy wasn't too pleased about the marriage but he was there to walk Gemma down the aisle. It was clear how much he didn't like Nolan…it didn't bother Nolan too much either because he didn't really care for Mr. Malfoy either.

Pansy Malfoy was not pleased that there was a family connection with the Malfoys and the Weasleys but she admired the fact that Gemma hadn't followed the "Malfoy Code of Conduct" like Narcissa had forced her to do. However, she did not appreciate Nolan's sense of humor at the wrong times…sometimes Nolan did it purposely to annoy her.

-When he was twenty-four, on his father's birthday, Gemma gave birth to his son. Topher Ronald Weasley was born into the world with Weasley red hair and Gemma's dark brown eyes.

Ron was honored that his first grandson was named after him…and on his birthday too.

"This is the greatest birthday gift ever," Ron declared as he held onto his grandson.

Hermione noted how much Topher Ronald looked just like his father when he was born.

"I bet you'll be a handful too. Just like your Daddy. You'll be amazing too. Just like him," Hermione said.

Nolan had never felt scared like Gemma had. He always knew that he had two good parents that set the example for him but when he held his son, he couldn't help but wonder if he would be as good of a parent as Ron and Hermione were.

Topher stirred in his arms and opened his big brown eyes to stare at Nolan. He couldn't be afraid when his son was staring back up at him. Instead he felt brave and knew that he could take care of this little boy because he loved him so much.

"He's beautiful." Gemma said, tiredly. Nolan held onto his son and nodded while tears dripped down his nose.

"Yes, he is." Nolan said.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!**


	3. Ryen

**an: sorry it took so long...I'm working on the other chapters. Hope you like this one. Please review!!**

**And one more thing to **reyla: **I never said that I despised Malfoy/Weasley relationships. In my profile it said that I don't like Ginny/Draco. From where I left it in **Paris **the Malfoys and Weasleys were on decent terms. And this is a whole new generation...**

**So on with the story!**

Ryen Michael Weasley:

_Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love. –David McCullough _

_Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. –Ferris Bueller _

_If you're gonna marry someone you might as well marry your best friend. –Sara, Rumor Has It_

Ryen Michael Weasley:

-When he was one, he had two older siblings that he looked up to. He had a big brother, Nolan, and a big sister, Willa to follow around and learn from.

Nolan was funny. He made Ryen laugh all the time. They would play in the backyard and Nolan would jump out to surprise him and make a funny face. Ryen laughed so hard that he ended up, rolling on the ground laughing so hard. When Ryen laughed that hard, Nolan would start to laugh…and then they couldn't stop.

Willa had adventures. She would plan out adventures for the three wizard explorers and they were always fun. There were dragons and flying on Hippogriffs. Sometimes there were even bank heists, trying to steal back the valuable items that were originally stolen from Hogwarts. They had so much fun that they stayed outside even past the time it got dark. Ryen was upset when they had to come in…he was having too much fun.

Ryen wanted to be funny just like Nolan and he wanted to be adventurous just like Willa.

-At the age of two, Ryen had an extensive vocabulary. He learned from what was spoken to him.

Mummy read to him before he could talk, and as he got older he picked up on those words. Willa told him her stories from her imagination and used as many words as she knew. Nolan told him jokes and made up strange words.

His favorite thing to do was read the Gazette. Every night when Daddy would take out his evening issue, Ryen would sit on his lap and Daddy would read him articles from the paper. The editorials were the best because Daddy would sometimes laugh and use funny voices so then Ryen would laugh too.

Ryen had no idea what "decoy" or "illegal" meant but it didn't stop him from attempting to use them.

-In his third year, the whole Weasley/Potter/Lupin/Longbottom/Parker family came to California for their usual long weekend summer vacation. Ryen was split into the three-year-old group with Ben, Grier, and Felicity. Mummy took them to the beach to play for the day.

Fee wanted to build a sandcastle but Ryen wanted to go in the ocean. Ben and Grier stayed out of the fight as Fee and Ryen yelled at each other until they were red in the face and Hermione had to separate them so they wouldn't kill each other.

A half-hour later they got over their argument and all four of them played together at the playground but it wasn't too long before both of their stubborn personalities kicked in again.

It amazed everyone how they could be friends in one moment and then fight the next but then again…it sounded a little familiar.

-When he was four, he wanted to learn how to read so that he didn't have to be read to. Hermione sat with him every afternoon when she got home from work and taught him the words.

Eventually he memorized _Sammy and the Lost Wand _and he was able to start reading new books that had similar words in it.

By the time he was four and a half, he was able to read any of the children's books that were on his bookshelf. He gathered almost all the books in the house and would sit for hours, studying the pages of books.

His next accomplishment was trying to read the Gazette to Ron.

-A month after he turned five, a new baby joined the family. Her name was Brenna and she was very little. She cried and slept a lot.

Nolan said that they had to be protective of their little sister so they had to watch her and make sure she was safe because she was so little.

Ryen thought that it was more important to teach her things so that she would be able to read to herself.

Whenever Nolan wasn't around, Ryen made sure he told Bren everything he knew and everything he just learned.

-When he was six, he got up every morning and hurried downstairs to the kitchen table where Ron and Hermione sat. Hermione put a cup of hot chocolate in front of him and a bagel while Ron passed over the Gazette.

He sat at the table for a half hour, reading the Gazette just like Ron was and eating the same breakfast as Ron. Ryen wanted to be just like Ron.

Sometimes he would even go to the Gazette office and work with him.

All of the Southern California Gazette employees decided that Ryen would be the next Gazette Editor.

-He got his first job when he turned seven. It wasn't really official because he got paid through allowance but he had a title and a desk…that was all that mattered.

Ryen Michael Weasley, Assistant to the Assistant of the Editor-in-Chief. His desk was right next to Kenny's (the assistant to the editor-in-chief) desk and he always had assignments to do. Sometimes he got to help the page editor and double-check all the articles and then other times he was the fact-checker.

His second favorite part of the job (because his first favorite was working with Ron and having fun while he worked) was that everyone treated him like an equal. No one really cared that he was only seven years old. They still joked with him and gave him assignments like they did with every other Gazette staff members.

He knew that this was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. From the age of seven on, he got up every morning put on a shirt and tie, grabbed his briefcase and followed Ron to work.

-When Ryen was eight, three months before he turned nine, Nolan left for Hogwarts. Ryen was left to be the oldest sibling and take care of Bren. The house felt emptier without Willa and now it felt deserted since Nolan was gone. He didn't have to be afraid of being pranked every time he turned a corner, or worry about the other messy half of his room…

…but then again the house was too quiet when Nolan wasn't laughing through the halls and Ryen missed having someone closer to his age to play with. Bren only wanted to play in the garden and find the animals that lived in there…Ryen hated dirt.

He wrote to Nolan and Willa, begging them to come home and let Mum home school them. He preferred to be the middle child with two older siblings than just him and Bren.

-Right before his ninth birthday, Willa and Nolan made it back from Hogwarts in time to celebrate. Willa had gifts from Hogsmede and stories that didn't seem too believable while Nolan came back with more pranks and Snape jokes.

It was the best birthday party ever with everyone back together. The only thing that ruined it was at the Burrow when he and Fee got into an argument about who had a more important job with helping at their respective Gazettes.

"Pictures are waaay more important! A picture is worth a thousand words!" Fee argued.

"Well you need my thousand words of my article to explain your pictures!" Ryen argued back.

It made him angrier when everyone kept saying "it's like Ron and Hermione all over again." It made him furious when Willa tried to explain why they called them that. No one understood that he and Fee just didn't get along…even though they were good friends.

-In September of his tenth year, he realized that he would be leaving for Hogwarts in one year. As much as he wanted to see Nolan and Willa, he didn't want to leave Bren or his job at the Gazette. He liked his life as it was.

The only thing he was missing was magic. Hermione could teach him that and then he wouldn't need to go to Hogwarts…he already had a job and that was the point right?

"Who's going to shape up the Herald if you aren't there?" Ron asked. "We need to get more Weasleys on the Herald."

"You're going." Hermione said simply.

"I can't go to Hogwarts without you!" Ben exclaimed.

"You're going to Hogwarts Ryen Michael Weasley." Fee said. "Even if I have to drag you there."

In the end he knew that it was impractical for a ten year old to get a job and not go to school. But he was glad that he had a job when it was over.

-When he was eleven, he was too nervous to talk as he waited on platform 9 ¾. Ben was already on the train with Max and Nolan had disappeared somewhere with Gabriel no doubt to prank someone. Willa was talking to a boy and Hermione was holding onto his hand a little too tightly.

"You'll be ok." Hermione said, seeming to assure herself more than him. "I can't believe you're going already. You are already too grown up for your age. Promise me that you and Fee won't fight too much. One day, you'll regret all those stories that people will be telling about your rows from your Hogwarts days." She smiled when Ron laughed from behind her. Ryen was calmed enough by her words to roll his eyes at his mother…until he was brought back to the present where he was leaving his family.

"They'll be fine." Ron assured her. "They've known each other their whole lives so I'll bet that by fourth year they'll confess their feelings."

"I don't know." Hermione said with a smile on her face. "These two are slightly more stubborn." Ryen rolled his eyes again.

"Mum, Dad," he sighed. "Fee and I aren't like that. We fight too much and she thinks she's smarter than me…even though she isn't!"

"Of course Ry," Hermione said. She smiled again and then pulled him close for a tight hug. He hugged Ron next and moved on to Bren.

"Take care of Zeus," she said tearfully, passing him his pet toad.

"Take care of yourself." Ryen said. "Make sure you try and read one book a week…and an educational one not one about animals." Bren smiled.

"Animals are educational!" she protested. He laughed and hugged her.

Finally, he turned around to face his fears. He searched for Willa and Nolan. He was afraid that they would leave him on his own. Luckily, Fee hurried to him and threw her arms around him. She was just as scared as he was. He put his arms around her and awkwardly patted her back.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded and gripped his hand tightly as Nolan ran up behind them.

"Come on lovebirds, let's move it along! I'll show you where the Weasley compartments are!" Nolan exclaimed.

"Careful, you almost dropped Zeus." Willa appeared on his other side and pointed to his toad, slipping out of his hand.

Ryen smiled, feeling slightly more relaxed. His big sister and big brother were there, he was protecting Fee, and Ben was waiting on the train. He didn't feel so scared anymore.

-When he was twelve he decided it was unfair that he couldn't be on the Herald staff just because he was only a first year. His father had created the paper for goodness sake, it was only right that his son should work on the paper. It wasn't like he was asking for the editor position but he did want to do something for the paper.

He felt a little bit better when Fee started arguing that she should be on the paper too. She spent the last few years working with her father at the England Gazette and she was really interested in photography. He argued back just because he felt he had to but in the end he gave in…he was afraid of going to see McGonagall on his own.

The next day, Ryen was the newest writer on the Herald. He got his own desk and computer, it was exciting. The desk next to his belonged to one of his best friends. Fee was the newest photographer on the Herald.

He was relieved that she was there with him…the Herald office it was the only place where they never fought.

-He was thirteen when he got his first–and last–detention. He promised himself that he would never listen to Nolan ever again and he would only have one detention on his record.

It was a stupid thing, really. Nolan said that he heard talk of a secret meeting at midnight for students who were going to let a troll in and Ryen hurried away to get his reporters notebook. He hadn't realized that Nolan was joking.

Hermione was in shock. She came to the school the next day and made Madam Pomfrey check twice to make sure that Ryen was feeling ok.

Fee yelled at Ryen for listening to something so ridiculous….Ryen thought she was just mad because he hadn't invited her along to take pictures.

-When he was fourteen, he stood in the Gryffindor Common room yelling at Fee while she yelled back. No one could understand them as they argued over Ryen being "an insensitive jerk!" and Fee being "way too worked up just because I said you looked tired!"

Everyone stared at them while they argued until finally Fee told him to go to hell and then ran to her dormitory. He couldn't understand why one little comment set her off but he didn't care. He was too mad about the whole situation to apologize.

It went on for almost a month. Fee wasn't in the common room as much. She was either in her dormitory or with Grier who was a Hufflepuff. In that time Ryen realized how much he missed her. She had always been there and he hadn't pictured it otherwise. She was always there to fight with or work out homework problems with. He missed it when she would get so mad that her words would start to blend together and he couldn't understand her. He would start to snigger and she would get angrier…it didn't take long for him to laugh so hard that he was choking and she was laughing. He missed it.

They were a team…she would take the pictures and he would write the story. Now he had to work with other photographers. They would both have to motivate Ben and Grier to get their work done because if they didn't, Ben and Grier would put off their work until the last minute. Now he halfheartedly tried to get Ben to do work but there was something strict and motherly in Fee's voice that would make them listen.

Finally, Ben and Grier plotted to get them in the same place at the same time…alone. Putting the fight aside, they were both forced to search for Zeus who had gone missing…strangely ending up on Ben's bed.

Just like that they were four again rather than two and two.

-On his fifteenth birthday, Sara McGhee walked by their booth at the Three Broomsticks and wished Ryen a happy birthday while she batted her eyelashes, smiled more than normal, and giggled when he responded. She skipped away, promising to see him later, and he turned back to the table with red cheeks.

Fee was glaring at him but would not explain her reasoning behind her suddenly sullen mood.

A month later Ryen, Fee, Ben, and Grier sat in the library where they were working on an essay. Stephan Meyer walked by and Grier elbowed Fee. They both looked up and giggled. Stephan looked over and smiled. They giggled even louder. Ryen turned around and saw Stephan. He looked back and forth between the girls and the Head Boy and then frowned, hating Stephan Meyer for some reason that he couldn't pinpoint.

-His sixteenth year was very important. Every single day, he and Fee gathered all their books and made Ben and Grier study for the O.W.L.s with them. Ben and Grier, would eventually slip away but Ryen and Fee would quiz each other until late into the night.

The O.W.L.s and the Herald were the only things they focused on that year. They didn't have time for dating like Ben and Grier made time for with their respective significant others. They were working so often that they stopped fighting with each other as much.

Bren claimed that Ryen and Fee worked like adults and they needed to enjoy their childhood before it was all over but Ryen just slung his book bag over his shoulder and shot another question at Fee.

Ryen and Fee weren't going to take advice from an eleven-year-old. They continued to study and work until they both achieved O's on all of their O.W.L.s. Glad that their hard work paid off, they planned summer internships at the Gazettes. The only disappointment was that they wouldn't be a team anymore. Fee would be working in England while Ryen would be working in California.

He was glad that she had long since decided that when she graduated she would be moving to California so they could work together.

-When he was seventeen, he was in his sixth year at Hogwarts. It was almost time to graduate and move on to bigger and better things at the Southern California Gazette. He was still studying hard but since O.W.L.s were over, it was a lot more relaxing and he finally understood the purpose of just sitting on the grass and staring up at the clouds in the sky, with his three best friends next to him.

He and Fee weren't fighting as much as they had in previous years but once in a while the stupid arguments would pop up but these didn't take long to get over. Ryen found that he loved joking with Fee more than fighting with her. When they got along they were great together and now that they weren't completely focused on exams, he was able to see that. He was also able to notice that when she got excited, her eyes changed from ocean blue to magenta and when she was upset, they turned gray. She preferred to keep her hair in a solid brown color, held in a ponytail but sometimes she let it down and she looked more relaxed. He also couldn't help but notice that she wasn't eleven anymore she was…er…more developed since then.

It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed these things before but then he was too busy fighting with her or studying with her to realize what it meant…

A month into their new school year, he sat at his desk in the Herald office and let his mind wander for a minute while Fee rambled on. He smiled as he watched her talk in all seriousness about their page in the paper. Her eyes were a fierce green so he knew she was serious. He couldn't help but feel warm inside, like he always did when he wasn't fighting with her.

"Are you listening?" she snapped. Ryen nodded but the warm feeling didn't leave him. She continued on and he was finally able to admit to himself after at least six years: he was in love with his best friend.

He knew she didn't feel the same way though so instead of acting on his feelings his cheeks turned pink, he ran a hand through his chestnut colored hair, and focused on the Herald: something that could keep him occupied and away from wrong thoughts about his best friend.

-Three months before he turned eighteen, he, Fee, Ben, and Grier arrived at Hogwarts for their last year at Hogwarts. He was Head Boy and Fee was Head Girl. They were only nine months away from freedom and their future at the Southern California Gazette. Ryen was warned that he needed to take it easy this year and relax a little bit. It was his last year before working and he figured he might enjoy it a bit.

The night after they showed the first years where to go, he and Fee sat in the Common Room discussing futures.

"Well you just wait until my photography wins an award. A picture is worth a thousand words." Fee said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but no one knows that the picture means without my story to explain it." Ryen said. It was a silly little argument that they've had for years but there was something playful in their tone.

"Are you saying that my pictures aren't important?" Fee rose to her feet and stared at Ryen. Her hair was loose and falling in her face. He rose to his feet too but instead of wanting to yell back, he wanted to kiss her. His cheeks flushed and he turned away, hurrying for the dormitory.

"Ryen? I was only joking." Fee called to him. He stopped in his tracks. There was something in her voice that was pleading for him to stay. He wondered if maybe it was possible that she was feeling what he was feeling.

Without thinking about anything, he turned and hurried back to her. He caught her in his arms and met his mouth with hers. His hands shook as he pulled away from her and waited for her reaction.

She looked surprised. Her fingers lightly touched her lips and she stared at the floor. He waited. It was silent for thirty seconds. Everyone in the common room was watching. It seemed like they had been waiting for this day as well. Finally Fee moved. She turned around and sprinted for her dorm room. He felt crushed. Bren appeared at his side, sympathetically patting his arm. He shook away from her and turned for his own dormitory, unsure of whether or not he would ever come back down again.

He ruined a friendship and any chance that he ever had of being with Fee.

-The morning after the worst moment in his life occurred, he was awoken by a text message from an unknown number at two in the morning.

_Meet me in the common room._

As curious as he was, Ryen had seem too many horror movies that began like that. With his wand extended, he cautiously trailed down the stairs wondering who could possibly want to meet him in the common room. Perhaps someone wanted to tease him about being turned down by Fee, or maybe it was someone playing a trick, or it could just be someone who would take him out and end his misery.

In the common room, he found a familiar face with brown hair framing her face and serious green eyes watching him descend the stairs. He put his wand away and cautiously stood at the bottom of the steps.

"Look, I'm sorry. Can we just for-"

"Ryen shut up," Fee demanded. She began pacing back and forth. "I have to say something and I need you to listen." She took a deep breath and continued, avoiding looking at him.

"We've known each other our whole lives and our personalities are similar so we fight because we both want to be smarter or braver or more stubborn. But then we got into that huge fight over nothing and we didn't talk for a month. I hated to admit it, and only Grier knew…I missed you and it was weird because I just couldn't picture not ever speaking to you again but I couldn't give up my pride and be the first one to say something. I was relieved when we just started talking again. My feelings got out of control from there because I loved just sitting there and working on the Herald and our homework together. Ry, you're the only one who I can sit in silence with and it wouldn't be awkward. So I guess after that I realized how much I cared about you…in less of a friendly way…and more of I-want-to-hold-your-hand-and-walk-to-class-and-stay-up-late-doing-our-homework-and-sharing-secret-looks way." She risked a glance at him. He was sitting on the bottom step, taking this all in. After all, he had only realized his feelings less than a year ago.

"Anyways," she continued on, "after that we were worrying about O.W.L.s and we barely got the chance to do anything but study so I never really tried to find out if you were feeling what I was feeling…but I still loved that I was spending time with you. It really hurt, though when I heard you keep telling Willa and Nolan that you didn't feel the same way I felt when they teased you. So I stopped myself from being hurt and I focused on my work. And now you randomly kiss me in front of everyone…I didn't know how to react. I-I- Ryen, I think I love you…and not in the brother/sister way that I've been trying to convince myself it was." She stopped and took a breath, staring at him with scared eyes. The green in her eyes paled a little bit.

"Wow…" Ryen said. He kept staring at her although she wouldn't look at him. His mind was formulating a response…he was the guy with all the words but somehow he couldn't find a response. Instead he stood up, pulled her into his arms and kissed her with the same passion that she made her speech in.

This time she kissed him back.

-A week later there was a row in the common room that involved a deadline for the Herald, it took an hour to get over but the making up part was slightly different now that they were together.

Ryen felt it in his gut that this was meant to be. The reason he had never been with anyone else…the reason that he never pictured his life without her…the reason he enjoyed arguing with her…it was something that, although he didn't know it from the beginning like everyone else, it was destined to happen.

He realized that his relationship with Fee didn't mirror his parents' relationship like everyone thought. In a way the arguing could be mistaken for the Ron and Hermione love story continued in the next generation, but Ryen and Fee were two different people, they had their own love story.

-Nine months after he and Fee got together, they were graduating from Hogwarts with Ben and Grier. All planned out, the group of four was transferring to a Southern California location for work. Ryen and Fee had their jobs at the SC Gazette, Ben was going to commute (Apparate) to Northern California where he would work with dragons, and Grier was going to go to school to be a Healer.

They were all ready for the real world with apartments in San Diego and lives ahead of them to lead. Ryen and Fee had been working diligently and hard for this, ever since they were old enough to go to work with their fathers, and Ben and Grier got there at their own pace.

On thing was for sure: the four children who came to Hogwarts were now adults.

-When he was nineteen and twenty, he worked hard at his job to work up to a high position. He wanted to prove all of the other interns who thought that he would only go places in the company because his father owned and created the company wrong. He wrote amazing articles that went with Fee's pictures and it wasn't long before the office named them the Gazette Couple.

It was speculated that they might end up getting married right at the Gazette office…the exact place where they sometimes argued over articles. The other staff members kept popcorn in the kitchen and broke it out when an argument arose. It was not only interesting to watch them fight, sometimes they watched to try and figure out how the Gazette Couple worked. They fought so often but yet they were still together and loved each other.

Whenever Ben or Grier stopped by the office, everyone started exchanging stories about Ryen and Fee.

"Oh give it a rest." Ryen said as he gathered his things to go to dinner with Ben and Grier. They were sharing a story with the last coworker left in the office. "Just because you guys don't fight doesn't mean everyone doesn't expect you two to get together one of these days." He hadn't meant to say it but he was annoyed. Just the other day Ryen had pointed out to Ben that he noticed how Ben and Grier had that comfort around each other that was different than what Ryen and Grier had as friends. That was when Ben unintentionally gave his feelings away. Now Ryen had ruined it.

Ben avoided Grier's eyes and glared at Ryen as he walked out of the Gazette office. Grier looked confused and turned to Ryen.

"What was that about?" Grier asked. Fee walked into the room at that moment. She had her jacket and briefcase in her hands and looked confused.

"I…" Ryen shook his head and looked after Ben. He had definitely ruined everything. A surprised realization came over Grier and she stood frozen for a moment. After that moment she took off, calling Ben's name.

When Ryen got back to his apartment that night, Ben's door was closed so Ryen assumed the worst and went to his own room, thinking of how to make it up to Ben tomorrow.

The next morning he woke up and went to the kitchen where he expected to see Ben, sullenly eating cereal. Instead he found Ben…and Grier in pajamas, eating cereal and talking in a flirtatious way.

Neither of them will admit it, but Ryen gave himself the credit for getting them together.

-On his twenty-first birthday he stood in front of a mirror and rehearsed the lines he wrote, over and over again.

"Fee, we've known each other our whole lives…" He paused and stared at himself again. His chestnut brown hair was neatly gelled up into his usual spiky style and his face was tanned from hours in the California sun. His eyebrows met in a frown while his chocolate brown eyes questioned himself on whether or not he was doing the right thing at the right time. He stood tall and puffed out his chest, wishing that he worked out a little more.

"Ryen, come on, we're going to be late for dinner!" Felicity called from the other side of the door. Ryen nodded to himself in the mirror and shoved the ring in his pocket. He loved her and hoped it wasn't too soon for her. He left the bathroom with every intention of asking her the most important question that a guy could ever ask and he hoped that she would say "yes".

That night he procrastinated through dinner until dessert came and it was a now or never moment. He got down on one knee in front of her and asked her to be with him for the rest of their lives. She said, "yes!" and after they spent the night celebrating, they made plans for a long engagement.

The next day, she started moving her stuff into his apartment.

-When he was twenty-two, he got a call that Gemma had gone into labor and his godson was about to be born. He was about to be a godfather and he couldn't wait. He practically dragged Fee to London where they waited impatiently in the waiting room.

Finally Nolan walked out of the room with Topher Ronald Weasley in his arms. Ryen held Finley in his arms as they took a good look at the little addition to their family. Ryen felt more tears coming on. Fee squeezed his hand while he explained to Topher that he already had a reputation at Hogwarts because of his father.

"It's ok though," Ryen said, smiling at the little baby. "He was a pretty smart kid so I know you will be too."

He had a niece and now a nephew. He enjoyed being Uncle Ryen and perhaps he and Fee would one day have kids too. But for now, spoiling them and giving them back after spending time with them was all he could handle.

-When he was twenty-three, he was very consumed with planning his wedding. He was to be married to the love of his life, in six months…and according to Fee, six months wasn't very long to get everything perfect. Nolan saw the stress planning the perfect wedding had put on Ryen, so he kidnapped him…well not technically. Nolan told Fee that he and Bren were going to come by and "kidnap" Ryen from his bed before he woke up.

It turned out to be a trip to Disney Land…just like old times. It was Ryen, Bren, Nolan, and Willa together. It had been a while since the four of them had spent time altogether. Willa and Nolan lived in England with their families, and he and Bren lived in California when Bren wasn't in school. It was hard to find time to spend with each other when they all had very busy lives that they led.

It had been fun for Ryen to forget about the wedding for a day and just spend time with his brother and sisters. They laughed about things that happened growing up, things that happened at Hogwarts, and they teased Ryen shamelessly for the way he was helping Fee plan the wedding.

At the end of the day, they drove back to Ryen's apartment with bags of stuff from Disney. Most were for Finley and Topher but they couldn't help themselves. They all had t-shirts and stuffed animals from their trip to Disney….and they brought stuff for Ron and Hermione.

It had been nice for Ryen to just take the day…put the Gazette and the wedding aside to relax and spend time with his family. Even if it meant going back to work the next day and more wedding stuff to deal with the next night.

-When he was twenty-four, he finally said "I do" to marrying the woman he loved.

Hermione was in tears as she watched her son marry the woman that she knew was his soul mate. She had known it from the beginning, but even so it was still a happy moment for tears.

Ron smiled as he watched his son standing with the woman he loved. He was brought back to the day thirty years ago when he married the woman he loved. Ryen was different though. His relationship with Felicity was different. Ron was proud of his son for everything that Ryen had accomplished in his life.

Ryen was ecstatic as he stood in front of Fee and proclaimed his love. He had wanted this since the realization of his feelings so long ago. Now he had it. He was married to Fee and forever they would be together.

Ben and Grier were Best Man and Matron of Honor…on an impulse they had married six months ago…in Vegas to avoid what Ryen and Fee were going through.

As the four of them sat at a table, toasting to their futures, Ryen knew the four of them were meant to be. They grew up together…he knew how lucky he was to have a wife like Fee and best friends who were in love like Ben and Grier. Most people only hoped to have friends that stayed friends for their entire lives.

That night Fee shifted in his arms and he smiled. He worked his ass off for his entire life. From a young age he worked because it was something he enjoyed doing it, and then it became a passion and he worked hard in Hogwarts to achieve what he wanted. So hard that he almost missed this…but now he was here…

….and he knew that he would never let it go.

-When he was twenty-five he reached the success in his career that he had been striving for. He became the Copy Editor after years of hard work. It wasn't because his father owned the place, it was because he put years and years of hard work into this job. It was his passion and he had finally achieved success.

It was even greater that two months later when Fee was promoted to Photography Editor. Although they were no longer the team they were back then, they were both doing well in their careers. They were both so busy that they rarely ran into each other during the day.

But it just made coming home to one another much more enjoyable.

-When he was twenty-six he became a father. Months before, he went to his own father for advice. Ryen was confused and a little scared. It helped him to know that Ron felt the same way before Willa, before Nolan, before Ryen, and even before Bren.

"It never stops." Ron said. "But then your child comes and everything changes. It's amazing Ry, and I'm sure you can handle it but I'm here when you need me."

The moment the Healer handed Holden Nikolas Weasley to him, things were different. And it was just the beginning.

The only time he let go of his son that night was to let Fee hold him. As soon as she fell asleep, Holden Nikolas was back in his arms and he sat on the end of her bed with one hand holding hers and the other around his son.

She stirred awake and smiled at him. "How is he?" she asked.

"Sleeping." Ryen answered. He smiled at Fee. "They wanted me to put him in the nursery but I thought he should spend the night with us."

"He should," she said. She sat up and stared at her son with Ryen. He was bald for now, but no doubt hair would soon grow in, and change color with every mood. If he were awake, bright blue eyes would be looking back at them.

"I love you." Ryen said. He kissed her forehead.

"I love you too." Fee said. She rested her head against his shoulder and they both watched Holden Nikolas sleep.

REVIEW PLEASE!! BREN'S CHAPTER WILL BE UP SOON!!


	4. Brenna

**an: hello!! Ok so it has been a very stressful week and another one is coming up! After I graduate on June sixteenth I will probably make it more easier to get writing done. **

**So I usually try and get the following chapter done before I post the current one BUT this is my birthday present from me to you!! lol, my birthday was...well it was yesterday considering it is 12:05 right now. All I ask is that you guys return the favor and hit the review button on the bottom lettting me know what you think!!**

**OK, on with Brenna's chapter!!**

**Love,  
Kylie**

_Life isn't about the number of breaths we take,__but the moments that take our breath away._

_Carpe diem - Seize the day._

_Maybe our mistakes are what make our fate.__** –**__Sarah Jessica Parker_

Brenna Rose Weasley:

-When she was one…she was the luckiest one-year-old. She had a big sister AND two big brothers. What more could a little girl ask for? She had playmates that lived in her house.

Willa told her a lot of stories. She told her about all of the adventures that she'd already been on, even though she was only eleven. Nolan was her protector. He was always watching out for her but it was fun for her to run away when he was trying to keep her safe from even the littlest things. Ryen taught her about the interesting animals she found outside. He had a whole book with all their pictures and he let Bren borrow it to look at the pictures.

Even though she was only one, she knew she was lucky to have three older siblings to play with.

-One visit to the Burrow when she was two, she found her first pet. She and her best friend, Tabby, were roaming the yard while everyone else played around them. They found a hole in the garden and after some cautious inspecting, a white bunny popped out of the hole.

Bren brought the bunny with her back to the house and in all of the chaos with every Weasley, Potter, Lupin, Longbottom, and Parker there no one noticed when Bren slipped the bunny into her mother's large purse.

Only when they got home and the bunny had finally chewed its way out of the purse did the pet become known to the rest of the family. Instead of being angry, Ron and Hermione laughed that Bren had managed to sneak a bunny back from England.

They named the bunny Babs and got her a cage. It was Bren's first pet (aside from the lady bugs she caught and kept) and even though she was only two, she took good care of her bunny.

-When she was three, her two favorite places were the garden in the backyard and the beach.

In the garden she got to crawl around in the dirt with Babs and Midnight. Sometimes she even found some interesting bugs and once she spotted a small snake. The Garden was just her place. Once in a while Hermione would wave her wand and pour a potion over the newly planted seeds but everyone else avoided the garden. They knew it was Bren's spot to play.

The beach was a whole sand-filled play place. She could run around with Daddy while they flew a kite or she could build a sandcastle with Mummy or splash in the water with Ryen. The way she could spend so much time at the beach and always enjoy herself was how Ron and Hermione knew that Bren was a California girl.

The garden and the beach were the places where she learned how to care for animals. There were always horseshoe crabs on their backs or lizards stuck in the fence and Bren was there to help them.

-At four-years-old, Hermione discovered that Bren was not a "tea party girl". Bren wore the pretty dresses that Aunt Ginny made her but at the end of the day they needed to be cleaned with a very strong spell to completely remove the dirt stains. Bren had too much fun playing to worry about getting dirty.

She had a collection of animals that lived in her backyard. Mummy and Daddy wouldn't let her keep any of the injured animals but she put food out for Rocco Raccoon and she had a special birdfeeder that she and Daddy made for all of her bird friends.

Her best friend in California, Ruby Daniels (daughter of her parents friends Graye and Nick), was not a girly girl either. The two could spend hours outside in the California sun playing and laughing only to go home at dinner time, worn out and caked in dirt.

She wasn't a typical girl and her parents were grateful for that. She was a challenge – not as much as Nolan was – but definitely a challenge to raise a daughter who preferred the outdoors and dirt to dolls and tea parties. They enjoyed it, and enjoyed Bren's uniqueness.

-Her fifth Christmas, they followed through with their normal routine. They opened their gifts underneath the Christmas tree as usual and then with her new stuffed Fwooper under her arm, she traveled to the Burrow to see the Weasley side of her family.

She loved Christmas Day because it meant her entire family was under one roof. It even meant that Lex, Cilley, and Penny were there too. Bren got to help Grammy Molly make the Christmas cake. Grammy Molly showed Bren how to bake everything. She always ended up with flour on her nose but she loved baking with Grammy Molly. Her favorite part was decorating the cake with icing and sprinkles. Even if it came out a mess, Grammy Molly always told her she did a good job.

The day after the Burrow gathering, they visited her other grandparents. First they went to Granddad and Bonnie's house. Bonnie made strange sweets and Granddad gave them a stocking full of little presents. Bren, Willa, Nolan, and Ryen sat on the couch together and answered the questions they were asked. It wasn't like when they were at the Burrow. They didn't feel comfortable.

After Granddad's, they went to Nana and Louis' for dinner. Nana cooked in the kitchen while Ron and Hermione politely chatted with Louis. Willa, Nolan, Ryen, and Bren sat in front of the television watching muggle Christmas specials. Bren didn't like it there. She offered to help Nana bake the pie for dessert but Nana said that baking wasn't for children. Bren wished that she was at the Burrow instead of at Nana's.

-When she was six, Ryen left for Hogwarts. She was alone. Her big sister was gone and her big brothers were gone. They all went off, leaving her alone for another five years. Bren was very upset. She moped around the whole day until Ruby and Tabby came over to spend the night. They had fun and Bren almost forgot that Ryen was gone until the next day when Ruby and Tabby went home. She was alone again.

That was when Bren realized she needed to make her own fun. During the day she went to a muggle school like her sister and brothers before her where she learned her basic knowledge. School was something she didn't enjoy too much. She preferred to educate the other students on magical animals. The teacher told Ron and Hermione that Bren had an "overactive imagination".

"Maybe there are things that you don't know about." Bren said to the teacher with her arms folded across her chest. "If you opened your eyes you might notice all the wiz–" Bren was silenced by Hermione's hand covering her mouth and giving the teacher and innocent smile….she switched to another class the next week.

In the afternoon, Bren would go to Ruby's house so Graye could watch her until Hermione got out of work. Bren and Ruby usually searched the backyard for injured animals to care for. Normally they didn't find anything except dirt but sometimes there were little baby birds without mothers or butterflies with broken wings.

In the evening, Hermione or Ron would pick her up and they would run errands before going home to make dinner. Bren always got to help make the dessert. After dinner they walked to the beach and watched the sunset. Later on they would watch a movie until Bren would fall asleep and Ron would carry her upstairs.

On weekends she would sometimes go to Grammy and Grandpas or spend time at Tabby's. Either way, she had finally adapted to being the only child in the house.

-When she was seven she discovered a pixie in her backyard. It was very different from the usual muggle animals that were found but it was exciting until Bren discovered that something was wrong with the pixie. Hermione and Ron said that she couldn't keep a magical creature in the house so Bren said that it flew away. She hid it in the small room in the garage that no one went in because it was used for storage and read up on pixies. Within an hour she had fixed up the pixie and the pixie went on her way.

It was rare to discover magical creatures in her yard but that day Bren started Brenna Rose Weasley's Animal Hospital. It was based out of the small storage room. She started her collection of animal books along with healing herbs and once in a while she was really able to save an animal.

In her letters to Willa, Nolan, and Ryen she told them about her animal hospital. They were sworn to secrecy because Bren knew that Ron and Hermione would make her shut down her animal hospital and take the animals she found to a real animal hospital.

One day she would have her own animal hospital and she would take in all kinds of magical animals….and no one would tell her she couldn't.

-During her eighth summer, she made sure to spend as much time with Willa as possible. This was Willa's last summer home before she permanently left to move to London. Even Nolan was talking about moving to London when he left Hogwarts. Bren couldn't understand why they didn't want to stay in California. She loved the sun and the beach. If it weren't for Hogwarts, she would stay her entire life in California.

That summer she took care of a raccoon with a broken leg and a few injured insects. She did check-ups on Mimi, Chip, and Zeus in her hospital before giving them back to their owners. The summer was spent poolside or splashing around at the beach. Willa took her to London to shop a few times and Nolan took her out for ice cream once he got back from Paris. (She was never able to figure out why he went to Paris in the first place.) Ryen worked at the Gazette all summer but he still walked her to the library once a week.

She enjoyed her summer thoroughly but her favorite day was when Hermione sent them to local grocery store and they created a game. Willa and Bren were a team and Nolan and Ryen were a team. They each got half of the grocery list and had to race around the store to get everything. They got in trouble for running countless times but she had so much fun, just the four of them.

At the end of the summer, Willa went off for her last year of school, and Nolan and Ryen went back yet again. Bren was left with only the memory of her summer.

-The day after her ninth birthday, she was relaxing with a book in the backyard. It was quiet because Nolan was catching up on sleep, Ryen was at the Gazette with Ron, and Hermione was preparing for her classes after the winter break. It was so quiet that she heard it almost instantly.

Bren stood up to follow the noise. It was the unmistakable noise of a bird that was in pain.

"What are you doing?" questioned a voice from behind her. She turned sharply in surprise and almost fell over when she saw TJ Parker standing behind her. She was momentarily distracted from her bird search. TJ stood taller than her; he was two years older than her and the only son of her parents' close friends. She had forgotten that they were stopping over today.

She wasn't too open to the idea of letting someone who wasn't her sibling, Tabby or Ruby in on her animal hospital but this was a serious matter.

"There's a bird," she said. She got down on her hands and knees, creating grass stains on her jeans. She followed the sound until she came upon a small golden ball of feathers. Carefully she lifted it into her hands and gasped.

"What?" TJ asked. She rolled her eyes, annoyed with him already.

"It's a Snidget," she explained, petting the bird softly.

"A what?" TJ asked. Bren sighed, annoyed and carefully stood up.

"It's a Snidget, it's the origin of the Snitch. It's a very rare creature. That's why they've made it illegal to harm or capture one. I can't believe it." Bren smiled. This was more amazing than the time she caught the Salamander that ate fire.

"Oh cool. Let me see." TJ tried to reach for the bird but Bren wouldn't let him. She informed him that it was injured and she had to take care of it.

"If you tell anyone I will curse you so bad!" Bren threatened as she tried to carry the Snidget into the house.

"You don't have a wand." TJ pointed out. She shot him a look that mirrored one of Hermione's and he backed off.

He didn't tell anyone but it was soon discovered that there was an endangered magical specie in Bren's hospital. Hermione and Ron took her to bring Sammy to a Snidget reserve a few days after she nursed the bird back to health.

-The months after her tenth summer were very emotional for her parents. She was the baby of the family and there were only a few more months left until she was off to Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione took the opportunity to spend as much time as possible with Bren.

Hermione took Bren to the zoo at least three times in two months; they went shopping for clothing at least twice a month; they went out to lunch a lot; Bren got to take more than a few sick days from muggle school to spend with Hermione; and to top it all off she got Bren a Pygmy Puff.

Ron took Bren to several Cannons games; snuck in a few trips to the ice cream parlor; bought her new animal books and items to take care of her animals; he brought her to the Wiz theater a few times; and during that time Bren got a lot of new stuff that she didn't really need.

It was nice getting one hundred percent of her parents' attention but after the third trip to Disney Land she had to sit them down and promise that she would still write them every day, and they would talk on the phone.

After that they toned down the extravagant attention.

-When she was eleven, she happily stood on Platform 9 ¾, waiting for Tabby while she said goodbye to her parents. Hermione was all tears as she hugged Bren and quadruple checked that she had everything she needed.

"All set Mum." Bren nodded and smiled for her mother. She wasn't too happy that she had to leave California but her parents' old school was where she preferred to be as opposed to the Northern California School where Ruby was going. There were plenty of opportunities for fun at Hogwarts and plus the Care of Magical Creatures class was one of the best in the world.

Ron smiled at her, squinting in the dull sun. He looked like a wreck, saying goodbye to his last child.

"It's ok Daddy, I'll be back for Christmas." Bren said. She squeezed Hermione's hand and offered Ron a smile.

"Come on B, Ryen's saving us a compartment!" Fee hurried by with Tabby trailing after her. Tonks and Lupin waved in the distance. Bren looked back to her parents and hugged them both. She hurried away with her Pygmy Puff, Licorice, in a carrying case. She turned back once more, feeling unsure for the first time. Her parents were waving. Ron held onto Hermione because she looked unsteady.

She had been so sure that this was what she wanted, freedom and fun but she knew that in a way she would miss the past five years that she had alone with her parents. She smiled, and blew kisses before running after Tabby and Fee.

-At twelve, it had been decided by many teachers that Bren was follow in the footsteps of her older brother, Nolan. She had received countless detentions for mouthing off to a teacher or following through with dares that her classmates didn't really believe she would do. Bren loved the attention and being recognized by her classmates as someone other than the youngest sister of "the writer", "the joker", or "the smart one", all becoming Hogwarts legends like most of her family.

Once during second year flying lesson, Zach Creevy dared her to fly to the top of the school and back before the professor got back. Of course Bren did it. She couldn't back down and look like a wimp. She mounted her broom and imitated Harry as he flew into the pitch for a match. Unfortunately when she made it back to the ground, Madam Hooch was waiting for her with a stern look on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Just like your brother." Hooch sighed as she escorted Bren to Professor McGonagall. Bren smiled.

"No, Nolan carefully planned and pulled pranks and told jokes. I prefer to do the unexpected." Bren turned to look at Hooch, to see her response. Hooch just sighed, there was no use arguing with Brenna Weasley.

-When she was thirteen, she was very serious about her Care of Magical Creatures class. This was the best year because Hagrid showed them plenty of new and interesting animals. Some, like the salamander, she had been lucky enough to come across before and others, like the hippogriff, she had only dreamed of ever seeing before.

That year, she put all her focus into that class. After all, if she was going to be an Animal Healer then this was all she really needed to know. Unfortunately she hadn't thought it through. She spent a lot of time doing some extra studying with Ryen at the end of that year to make it through finals.

-When she was fourteen, she sat in a circle on the dormitory floor with all the other girls in her year. It was a stormy afternoon and classes were over. Bren sat next to Tabby and across from Madison Lyle. She didn't like Madison at all but she was bored since there were no animals out because of the storm.

"Hmmm, let's see." Madison said. It was she who had suggested the game of truth or dare. She looked at Bren with a mischievous smile on her face. Bren sighed. She was already loosing interest in these people. "Bren, I dare you to go downstairs into the common room and kiss Patrick McCourt." Madison smiled, triumphantly waiting for her reaction.

Bren smiled to herself. Madison thought that she got her. For the past year all of the fourth year girls had been talking about boys…just not acting on it. Madison figured that Bren wouldn't go that far, she thought that she finally gotten Brenna Rose Weasley to back out of a dare.

Bren stood up. She smirked at Madison before starting for the stairs. The other girls stared at each other for a moment they were still in the talk-about-boys-and-giggle phase. Finally they gathered themselves and scrambled up to follow her. Bren started down the stairs and the second she saw Patrick she marched up to him, grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled his lips to hers. Everyone around them gasped. People turned their attentions from the large big screen WTV and stared. Bren's overprotective cousins were already preparing to pound Patrick into the ground.

When Bren pulled away, she smiled. She was the first girl in her year to kiss a boy and she showed Madison. You didn't dare Brenna Weasley and expect her to back down.

Patrick was her first relationship. It only lasted three weeks but the rest of the fourth year girls had followed her and began their own relationships.

-When she was fifteen, at the start of her fifth year, Bren was told that she was going to have to spend a great deal of time focusing on her O.W.L.s. Bren preferred to have fun. She would rather have hung out with her friends, worked with animals, and passed all of her classes by just going to them.

She made an effort on studying for her O.W.L.s because she knew there would be serious consequences with her mother if she didn't…but she also had fun. She spent her afternoons with the animals in the Forbidden Forest and her weekends with her friends.

When she was sixteen, at the end of the year when it came down to taking her O.W.L.s, she did decent for the lack of studying she did. She took for granted that most of the information about healing potions that she knew could apply to making regular potions, and the defensive spells that she and Tabby practiced for fun were really spells that were on the test. She had knowledge of magical plants that could be used to heal specific animals while she had helped Tabby study for Transfiguration and Charms she had retained some knowledge.

The only class that she hadn't done well in was Divination. She had expected it though, ever since that time in class when Bren asked Trelawney if she saw a hairbrush in her near future.

-When she was seventeen, she was going to spend her summer at the beach and by the pool, soaking up sun. She had even gotten a job at the nearest Animal Healer's office. The summer before her sixth year would be the best.

That summer she met Zeeke Knight who lived a few houses over from her. It was her fourth relationship and she had already decided from the beginning that it was just a summer fling. Willa and Nolan had shocked their parents enough with their relationships that Ryen and Bren were free to date whomever. It didn't mean that Ron didn't question her date before he would let Bren go…but at least she didn't have to wait until she was thirty…which was the original plan.

Zeeke had been under the impression that the relationship would last a while so things didn't end on very good terms when Bren ended it a week before she went back to school.

The day before she went back for her last year, she discovered a dog in her backyard, resting in the garden. It was an unfamiliar dog that she hadn't seen around before and it stared back at her, as if smiling and asking her to come rub his belly. Bren got closer. The dog's coat was white with black in random spots over the dog. It reminded Bren of a map of the world that she was supposed to study for History of Magic.

The dog didn't run away when Bren bent down to pet it. It jumped into her arms and licked her face. She discovered that _Atlas _was a Border Collie and by the look of his thin frame and dirty coat he was abandoned a while ago. Ryen came over for dinner and tried to persuade her to bring the dog to the pound but Bren had already named the dog and fell in love.

Somehow she convinced her parents (mostly Ron needed the convincing) to let Atlas come with her to school. Bren knew that Atlas had come to her for a reason. He knew that she would take care of him.

-When she was eighteen, her name was called up to receive her diploma.

"Brenna Rose Weasley!"

Bren hurried up to the front to receive her diploma…still in shock that this day was finally here. She wore a light yellow sundress under her graduation robes and her ginger hair was let down loose over her shoulders. She smiled happily, her chocolate brown eyes showed her joy. These had been the best seven years of her life, and now she was moving on to the adult world. It was a little scary but Bren was up for the challenge.

She had spent the last weekend with her mother, shopping for a graduation dress and she confessed her feelings on whether or not she was ready to be an adult.

"Mum, I don't know if I'm ready for this. Ruby and I are going to live on our own. Tabby is staying in England. All I know how to do is take care of animals; I can't take care of myself. I'm going to college and I don't think I'm ready. Mummy can't I just live with you and Daddy and you can just show me what to do?"

"I wish I could." Hermione said, smiling at her daughter. She put her arm through Bren's and kissed her forehead. "But I can't because you'll be fine. You are so grown up and you can handle this. You are incredible with taking care of animals. You have such a good heart and you will be the greatest animal healer. I know you'll be fine but I'm here for you too."

Bren smiled as she thought of her mother's words. She was almost ready to move in to her own apartment tomorrow…

-When she was nineteen, there was a big party at the Burrow for Grammy and Grandpa Weasley's sixty-first wedding anniversary. Everyone (Weasleys, Lupins, Longbottoms, Parkers…the whole family and honorary family members) was there. It was a big event that caused a lot of chaos. Bren stayed away from the confusion and played with Finley and Topher in the yard. Atlas loved being around children and Finley and Topher loved playing with Atlas. All the other great grandchildren were running around the area, playing tag.

Finley giggled as Atlas jumped up to lick her face while Topher tried to pet the dog. Bren laughed at them. Bren threw the stick again and Atlas darted after it. Bren winced and almost laughed as she realized she threw it at someone. He turned around and then nearly got pummeled by Atlas who wanted the stick. TJ Parker handed the stick over to Atlas and followed the dog back to Bren. Finley and Topher laughed some more as Atlas returned but Bren smiled guiltily at TJ.

"Sorry." Bren said. "Finley has really bad aim." Finley spun around with a frown on her face, looking exactly like Willa when she's insulted.

"No it was not me!" the four-year-old shouted. "You threw it!"

"Shhhhhhh, Auntie Bren doesn't want to get in trouble for hitting him." Bren said.

"Me neither!" Finley exclaimed. Bren laughed and turned back to TJ.

"Sorry." Bren said. "I have really bad aim."

"And now I have a lump on the back of my head." TJ said, rubbing his head.

"Sorry." Bren said again. She shrugged helplessly. TJ laughed. He started to ask her about school and she asked him about how student teaching (advanced charms) was going. Finally he left Bren to go talk to Molly and Arthur. When he left Willa came up to Bren with a smile on her face.

"What was that?" Willa asked.

"What was what?" Bren asked.

"_That_." Willa said. "I think there was something there."

"That was nothing." Bren said rolling her eyes. "And besides I'm already seeing this guy in my Advance Potions class."

"Right…" Willa said. She held a knowing smile on her face as she let Bren tell her about this guy.

-When she was twenty, she got her first "real" job at an Animal Healer's office. (The other one didn't count, she was just the secretary.) She was now a real Animal Healer…white coat and all.

There was Electra the turtle, Tristan and Isolde: a pair of rats, Cheri the armadillo, Freya the phoenix, Zabrina the blimpy…there were so many pets to take care of and Bren gave each pet individual attention and care. She worked hard at caring for animals; she had ever since she was little.

Healer Bailey told her that she got too attached to the animals and their owners. He said that she would never make it as a successful animal healer unless she just fixed up animals and sent them on their way. He also suggested that she take down the pictures that patients' owners had sent her of their healed animals.

That afternoon she carefully removed the pictures…and then packed up all her things. She yelled "I QUIT!" and stormed out of the office. This wasn't what she had signed up for when she decided that she wanted to be an animal healer.

Over the course of a month, Ron and Hermione helped her prepare to open her own practice. This time it wasn't based out of the storage area in the garage. It was in an actual building where she got actual patients.

-When she was twenty-one, she received a call at three in the morning that Fee was in labor. She jumped out of bed and hurried to get dressed and gather the presents that she bought for her godson.

She arrived at the hospital just in time to meet Holden Nikolas, the new addition to their family. She held him once before Ryen took him back. He loved his son (Bren could tell by the way he held Holden Nikolas and didn't want to let him go). She smiled when she watched Ryen, Fee, and Holden. They were very happy. It was the same when she looked at Willa, Eli, and Finley, or Nolan, Gemma, Topher, and the soon-to-be baby that would be there in six months.

They were all happy and here she was; all she had was her practice, her condo, and another failed relationship to mourn over. She wondered whether or not she was going about everything the wrong way…

….and then she realized that she was only twenty-one and in a good place in her career. She wanted what her brothers and sister had and eventually she would get there…she just hadn't met that person in Hogwarts. For now she wanted to have fun and maybe in the process she would find the father of her children and the love of her life.

-When she was twenty-two, she was very happy with her life. Her practice was doing very well (people appreciated affection…unlike Healer Bailey), she had just moved to an area farther away from her parents but closer to her practice, and she was two days shy of a sixth month anniversary with Tony, the owner of one of her patients. Things were looking good for Bren.

Tabby came to visit on a Friday night so the two girls invited Ruby along and went out to party for a girls' night out…somehow ending up on their way to Las Vegas. They gambled and partied and woke the next morning with things to do and headaches.

Bren was young and that was her excuse for being able to party by night and fulfill the responsibilities she had by day. Ryen warned her that it wouldn't last long but Bren was determined to enjoy her youth while it lasted. Sooner or later she would probably be spouting the same information to Finley.

A month later her practice was still doing well, her new condo was still in good shape, but her relationship was over.

She was still searching for her true love.

-The morning of her twenty-third birthday, she awoke smiling. She had a full day on her plate but the sun was shinning in through her window and Atlas was happily licking her feet. She got up and dressed for the day in a white sundress with black embroidered flowers, a gift from Aunt Ginny, and then hurried to her parent's house where her mother made her birthday special, chocolate cake.

After breakfast with her parents she hurried to Ryen's house for brunch. She played with Holden, ate breakfast with her brother and Fee, told Fee's stomach that she would see it in six months, and then hurried to Apparate to London where she went to Willa's house for her third meal of the day…dinner if she was going by London time. She played with Finley and then ate the takeout that Willa had ordered. She double-checked that Eli was taking good care of her sister and niece and was off again, this time to Nolan's house for dessert. At Nolan's she played with Topher and Xavier and ate ice cream with Nolan and Gemma.

Finally she went to Tabby's house which thankfully was the last stop she had to make. She changed into another dress and then people began arriving for her birthday party. Tabby's house was full of just about everyone Bren knew (well the ones who were under twenty-five and didn't have kids). With a drink in her hands, she made her rounds through the party.

The music beat loudly in her ears as she fell on the couch, falling nearly on top of someone she hadn't seen at first. She turned to see that it was TJ Parker. Her cheeks flushed pink.

"Sorry," she said. She slid off his lap and next to him. He laughed.

"Happy Birthday!" he yelled over the music.

"Thanks!" she shouted back. He questioned her about her practice and she asked about his classes. They took their conversation to the kitchen so they could speak without yelling.

The next morning Bren awoke in an unfamiliar place. She smiled, recalling the evening. They had stayed at the party and talked until everyone left and then spent the rest of the night wandering around London streets talking and laughing about life until finally falling into each other's arms at TJ's apartment.

He entered the room with two cups of coffee in his hands.

Getting involved with someone who lived in another country could get complicated…but Bren really didn't care. She wanted to live in the moment, not worrying about the fact that she lived eight hours behind him.

-Three months after their night together, Bren knew that she was falling for TJ and she was falling hard.

It had never been like this with previous relationships. There was something about the other ones that seemed too perfect from the start. Girl meets guy, they date, things seem fairytale-esque and then it's over when something goes wrong.

Her relationship with TJ was anything but perfect. Sometimes they fought, sometimes they were ridiculously goofy and lovey. It was girl know guy entire life, girl dislike guys through her teen years, girl nearly knocks guy out while playing fetch, and then girl falls onto guy at her birthday party.

Most people found it amazing that they managed to make a relationship based out of two different countries with an eight hour time difference work…Bren and TJ found it difficult at times but when they were in the same place at the same time, it never really mattered.

One Saturday morning (for Bren and afternoon for TJ) they sat on the balcony outside of Bren's condo.

TJ said it first.

"I love you." TJ announced suddenly. It took Bren off guard. TJ seemed a little surprised himself but he went with it. "I know it's only been three months but I love you."

She responded with a kiss and then murmured the same words into his ear.

-Three months later, he stood in her living room holding a box of his things – one of many boxes. After serious discussion and Bren's refusal to move away from California, TJ transferred to a school in California to teach charms and now he was moving his things into Bren's condo.

"B, could you grab my lapwiz in that box over there?" he questioned, setting down his box to watch her open a very large box.

"Sure." She opened the box to discover a smaller box and opened the smaller box to discover a smaller box. It went on until there was a tiny square box and she let out a gasp of surprise. TJ knelt down in front of her and took the box from her hand, revealing a ring.

"Brenna Rose Weasley, will you marry me." She nodded, smiling. He stood up to help her with the ring and she jumped into his arms.

Things moved fast with them but that was what worked for their relationship. They were in love, happy, and engaged after only six months.

-A month later, Bren found herself at the Healer's office, gripping on to her mother's hand tightly as the healer informed her that she was two months pregnant.

She didn't cry but she didn't smile. Hermione took all the information the Healer gave them because Bren couldn't retain anything besides the fact that she was pregnant.

Hermione took her home – to the home Bren grew up in. Hermione worked on fixing Bren something to eat while Bren sat outside on the ground and in the garden, not caring if her pants were getting dirty. She wondered how one little mistake two months ago could change the rest of her life so drastically.

She and TJ were having a baby and getting married. She went from a carefree twenty-three-year-old to a soon-to-be-parent/wife so fast that she felt as if she had missed the whole transition.

She went home later that night to tell TJ. He didn't jump for joy (she never expected that) and he didn't get upset and leave (she had expected that). He pulled her close to him, kissed her forehead and promised her that they would figure it out.

The next day they moved the wedding up.

-When she was twenty-four, Ron escorted her down a sandy aisle covered in white flower petals (put there by Finley). TJ waited at the end of the aisle beaming joy. She wore a white Ginny Potter dress that extended over her six month bump. Her Weasley ginger hair was pulled into a series of complicated twists and she wore a smile on her freckled face that matched the man, waiting at the end of the aisle. This was the same place that her parents had been married.

Ron brought her to the altar set up on the beach. He kissed her forehead and gave her away to TJ. All she could do was smile and look into the eyes of the man that she loved.

"You may kiss the bride."

Bren wrapped her arms around his neck and his rested on her waist. The kiss said it all to everyone who had doubts about their short relationship. They were in love…and now they were Mr. and Mrs. In Love.

-Three months later, Bren lay in a hospital bed exhausted and holding a little blue bundle. TJ, Ron, Hermione, Sasha, and Trey Sr. looked on, smiling at the new born baby.

Hermione was still not used to composed behavior when her grandchildren were born. She had tear streaks running down her face.

Ron loved this. Being a grandfather was different then being a father. There was more opportunity to spoil the children.

Trey was smiling goofily. This was his third grandson and after having only one son, it was nice to have grandsons to teach Quidditch too.

Sasha was crying. She was a grandmother four times already but the fifth time was just as excellent as the previous four.

"What's his name?" Hermione asked, tears poured down her cheeks. She held her grandson in her arms and kissed his forehead delicately.

"Well," Bren said, looking at TJ. "We decided on Aden." TJ gave her a look. "Ok, I decided on Aden but TJ got to pick the middle name."

"Yes, and I've decided on…" he hesitated for a moment to hold Bren's suspense. She was worried that he'd pick a strange name. "Jakob," he declared. "With a K." Bren smiled.

"Perfect!" she declared. "Aden Jakob Parker."

"And we can call him A.J." TJ declared.

"We'll see." Bren said. She yawned and smiled as she watched Ron make funny faces at Aden Jakob. Her eyes fluttered shut and she began dreaming of the life that lie ahead of her.

Later that evening, Bren awoke to the sound of TJ's voice. "I'm not very good at Quidditch but your mum's the best. And we have a dog. His name is Atlas. Your mum has had him for almost ten years. He's a good dog though." Bren smiled and opened her arms. TJ gently placed their son into Bren's arms.

"Hey AJ." Bren said. TJ smiled and kissed her forehead. Tears slowly began falling down her cheeks. "I'm a little bit scared." Bren admitted. TJ wrapped an arm around her and sat on the end of the bed.

"Me too," he said. "But we've got to be brave for him. He's counting on us." Bren nodded. She kissed the cheek of her newborn baby and leaned back into TJ's arms.

Things wouldn't be easy but she knew that loving TJ, and Aden would be enough to get started.


	5. Ron and Hermione

_The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands. -Alexandra Penney _

_Life is too short so kiss slowly  
Love deeply forgive quickly and  
Forget the past, just not what it taught you..._

_When you were born, you cried and everyone smiled. Live your life so that when you die, everyone cries and you're the only one smiling_

_To understand your parents' love, you must raise children yourself._

_One of life's greatest mysteries is how the boy who wasn't good enough to marry your daughter can be the father of the smartest grandchild in the world…_

Ronald Billus Weasley and Hermione Jane (Granger) Weasley:

-They were young when they got married and young when they had their first child. Not many people truly expected them to make it all the way.

Ron's brothers witnessed the fighting when they were younger and somewhat suspected hidden feelings but could never imagine their relationship going all the way to marriage. They were proven wrong as they watched their little brother marry the girl he loved.

Their friends from Hogwarts knew their relationship would happen all along. The hidden tension between the two was seen by everyone who knew them but, because of the fighting and their age, no one ever expected them to have a family. All of their friends were more than surprised to see them have a child and raising her in California.

Ron and Hermione knew from the start of their relationship that it was forever. When they got married it was official and when they had their first child it just became even more permanent.

-She was born on October 31st and the day they brought her home, Willa Elizabeth Weasley, and made it through their first night as terrified twenty-year-old new parents they fell even more in love. They were there for each other even sleep deprived and irritated.

The next three years of their lives were full of new experiences. They were raising a baby who was becoming a little girl. Willa was the perfect mix of the two of them. She was always curious about everything just like Hermione but the adventurous manner she used as she explored her curiosities was just like Ron. She always had someone read her a book…but she hated to have to listen to books about boring things. The thing that was all her own: her imagination.

The three of them were quite the little family. Everything was perfect…

-It came as another shock. They hadn't been expecting it but they took the life-changing experience into their lives and it became another blessing. He was born on August 10th.

Nolan Xavier Weasley looked just like Ron. His Weasley Blues and ginger hair were obvious signs that he was a Weasley. Even at a month old, he had an enchanting laugh that people couldn't help smile over.

They went from three to four. The transition wasn't very smooth but it was incredible to have another addition to their family. They now had both a son and a daughter and Willa had a little brother.

Hermione knew raising a son would be difficult – especially if he was anything like his father – but Nolan Xavier was such an amazing little person. She had laughed when Ron said Willa wasn't dating until she was thirty but she never wanted some woman to swoop in and take Nolan away from her. He was her baby boy.

Ron loved having another guy in the house. Nolan was a laugher and anything that Ron did, Nolan laughed at. Ron knew that he wanted to be good friends with his son as he got older. He wanted Nolan to look up to him and aspire to be him. Nolan looked like him already and only time would tell if Nolan Xavier was truly like his father.

-The third one came just as much of a surprise as the first two. On December 22nd they became a family of five. One daughter and two sons…and that was how it would stay. Three children was the perfect amount.

Ryen Michael was the perfect little addition to their family. As Willa was getting older, Nolan had a new playmate…even though it meant more trouble-making.

Hermione was glad to find that Ryen was a calmer baby than Willa or Nolan. He was very attentive when she read to him and he picked things up very quickly. He was a bright baby and Hermione loved watching him learn new things.

Ron knew that Ryen was going to take after his mother. He had her eyes, her hair, and her brains…even though he was a baby it wasn't hard to see. Ron had high hopes that Ryen would be the one with the good head on his shoulders and maybe be Nolan's voice of reason and keep Willa from letting her adventures get the best of her.

All three of their children had very distinctive personalities that Hermione and Ron loved. It was incredible to watch the little people that they created, grow.

-Hermione wanted to give her children what she didn't have growing up. Hermione wanted her children to have a big family where there was always someone to turn to. She wanted her children to see her as their mother and their friend. She didn't have anyone growing up and her parents weren't exactly the friend type. She wanted her children to grow up differently than she did.

Ron wanted his children to have the childhood that he had. He loved that he could give them everything they wanted unlike when he was younger but he knew that his best childhood memories were just running around outside with his brothers and Ginny and making up games. He wanted his kids to have those kinds of memories. Ron wanted his children to be loved as much as he was growing up. He knew how much his mother cared (even if it sometimes came in the form of nagging) for him and his siblings and how much their father worked to give his children what they wanted.

-They were busy people with busy lives. They had children and careers but every Wednesday night they would walk down to the beach and talk while the kids played at Becki and Paul's. She would lace her fingers through his and they would walk. Sometimes they would talk about work or the kids but most of the time it was about them and how they were feeling at that moment.

Whenever possible they would meet at their favorite restaurant and have their lunch dates. This was where they pretended they were still dating and they were carefree teenagers. They went back to work with smiles on their faces, knowing that they truly loved the person that they were with.

Saturday night was date night no matter what. Whether they were in the middle of a fight or visiting a different country. They always made time for each other. It had been an ongoing tradition since their second child was born. Sometimes it would be just curling up on the couch and watching a movie while the kids slept upstairs or other times they would get all dressed up and go dancing. It was their time together.

The times when they just spent time together made them realize how nice it was to have someone who loved them that much, always around.

-None of their children had been planned but they had all been blessings in Ron and Hermione's lives. Their first child was the biggest surprise of their lives…the fourth child was almost as surprising. They were almost thirty and figured that they were done with kids. Then came the surprising news from the Healer at Hermione's regularly scheduled appointment. They were two months along with their fourth child.

Ten years after their first child, they were having their fourth. It was an adjustment that they had to get used to. They created another room on the second floor next door to them and then had to tell the other children that there would be a new addition to their family.

The night of her thirtieth birthday, Hermione sat on the balcony outside of her room. Her hand rested on her five month pregnant bump and she sighed. She was thirty and wasn't sure if she was really ready to be a mother to a newborn baby again. She had always felt this worry through the first three pregnancies and this time it was worse.

The same night, Ron closed the door of Nolan and Ryen's attic bedroom and trailed back down the stairs to check on Willa. He shut her door and went to down to the living room to get the birthday present he had been saving for Hermione. He paused after grabbing the necklace from his briefcase. He fell onto the couch and stared into the pile of toys in the living room. He was afraid of going through everything all over again just as he had been through every pregnancy.

-Four months later on January 4th they welcomed Brenna Rose Weasley into the world. Her prink face and chocolate brown eyes made both of them smile and cry. She was one of four of the most beautiful babies in the world.

Ron held her into his arms, tears dripped down his long nose and he smiled. "You look just like your mother," he told her. "But I think you'll have my hair." He smiled as she stared up at him, watching him. "You've got the greatest mum in the world and you can ask your brothers and sister but I think I'm a decent dad." He smiled at her and then passed her along to Hermione while he hurried to go get the other children.

Hermione held her daughter in her arms and smiled. "Your Daddy is a great guy. Don't worry. He's a little goofy but you'll love him. And he'll probably tell you that you can't date until your thirty but he just loves you a lot. We've got your room set up and you'll feel right at home. You're a lucky little girl, Brenna, you've got two big brothers and a big sister." Hermione smiled and kissed her daughter's head.

Willa, Nolan, and Ryen hurried into the room to see their new little sister. They loved her right away. Willa began telling her about adventures that they would have when she could walk and Nolan started to tell her jokes. Ryen brought a picture book with him to read to her. Ron held Hermione's hand and squeezed it. Brenna fit into their family perfectly and they couldn't wait to discover Bren's personality and watch her grow into a little girl.

-They kept it to themselves but secretly they were glad that Willa was born after September 1st. It meant that they had more time with her before she left for Hogwarts. They wanted her to go off and have her own real adventures (not as adventurous as the ones that they had) but it was hard for them to let her go.

The day finally came when they had to bring her to King's Cross station. They spent the night before at the Burrow. Willa and Bren shared Ginny's old room and Nolan and Ryen shared Fred and George's old room. Ron and Hermione stayed in Ron's former room, just like old times with Quidditch posters zooming around the room. (It sort of looked like Nolan's half of the room at their house in California.)

They laid awake for most of the night. They didn't say anything. Ron held Hermione and Hermione rested her head against Ron's chest. Neither of them could imagine Willa gone for months.

They put on brave faces as they drove to King's Cross Station but inside they were a mess. Bren shouted out words and giggled while Nolan tried to tell jokes to lighten the mood. Ryen was sniffling in the back with his nose in a book and Willa was staring out the window, looking a little frightened.

They finally made it. Hermione lost it as she said goodbye. Ron tried to keep his composure but it was difficult. They watched her go down the line and it got worse. Finally they watched as she walked off with Lily. She turned back once, looking like a scared little girl. Hermione broke and Ron had to comfort her. They knew that she would be coming back a brave little girl.

-The day that Nolan left was just as difficult as the day that Willa left. It was only two years after Willa left and it felt like they were loosing their children one by one. Nolan put on a brave face for his parents. He tried to pretend that he wasn't afraid of going off on his own.

"You're a smart boy." Hermione told him as she hugged him. "Just study and do your work. You've got a strong Gryffindor name. Nolan means noble. I know you'll do well." She couldn't help but cry as he hugged her back, he seemed a little bit afraid of letting go. She kissed his forehead and saw her brave son, trying to keep himself from crying.

"Nervous?" Ron asked his son. He watched Nolan shake his head but it was obvious that Nolan was very nervous. "You'll be fine." Ron assured him. He gave his oldest son a hug. "For your Mum's sake, don't get in too much trouble. She's already worried that you've got some big prank for the welcome feast." Ron smiled as he watched Nolan reach into his pocket for some part of his prank. He laughed through the sadness and let Nolan move on to Ryen and Bren.

Ron held Hermione in his arms as they watched Nolan walk off with Willa. Nolan looked back. He looked innocent and afraid but they knew that he was as noble as his name meant and he would do fine.

-The third time around was no easier than the first or second. Ryen was a good kid. They weren't worried about him. Ryen hated to get in trouble and always did what he was told but they would still miss him terribly.

Masking her feelings, Hermione teased him about Felicity Lupin. Most people saw her in Ryen but when Fee was brought up, all Hermione could see was Ron when he was eleven and stubborn. She smiled and pulled him in for a hug. A few tears slipped down her face while she tried to be strong for her youngest son.

Ron laughed at the Ryen and Felicity joke. He could remember his time at Hogwarts when he and Hermione were the same way and it made him feel sad. He felt that his children were growing up too soon, especially Ryen who was already like a mini-adult. Ron hugged his son and had to bite into his cheek to keep calm when Ryen told him to keep the Gazette staff in line until he got back.

Hermione told Ron that they shouldn't have to worry about Ryen but it was hard not to worry about any of their children. Fee ran over and threw her arms around Ryen. Ron and Hermione couldn't help but smile and watch their two oldest children lead Ryen on his was to independence.

-Ron had always told his daughters that they were not allowed to date until they were thirty. He knew it was a silly and unfair rule that would soon be broken. He was never quite prepared for it though. He was taken off guard when Willa broke her news not so gently.

"Dad you know Zacharis Smith's son right?" Willa asked. She sat at the counter, looking anywhere but his eyes.

Ron complemented the guy's writing style and then quickly questioned why Willa brought the topic up.

She looked a little fearful as she responded, "because we've been hanging out a lot." Ron tensed up. He had a feeling this wasn't just hanging out that little prat was doing with his daughter. "In fact, Mrs. Smith invited us over for brunch on Saturday which would be like early, early breakfast for us."

Ron knew but he had to hear it from her. "Why?" he asked.

"Well, we've sort of been dating and his mum thought that we should all get together." His heart stopped. His baby girl, his first child, his little Munchkin was dating…and it was a Smith.

He didn't know what to say so he began pacing and everyone in the house was watching him. Finally he found the words that would come out in a reasonable decibel. "I need to meet this kid," he informed her. "I mean, again. I need to approve of him before we have any brunch. And I'm not sure he'll meet my standards."

Hermione was relieved that Ron took the news easier than she thought he would. Hermione knew because Willa told her the previous day. Willa had also come to her when she was fifteen after her first kiss. Hermione loved that her daughter could come to her with things like this when Hermione could never have gone to her own mother with the same problem.

Hermione was relieved when Ron approved of Elijah. Ron was relieved that Eli seemed to have turned out nothing like his father. Ron was still glad to hear from Nolan and Ryen that they weren't so sure about "the punk who's trying to steal our sister". He was glad that someone disapproved.

-It was hard to let each one of their children go, even if it was only for a few months till they came back for break. The hardest was to let their last child go. One was off on her own, one was almost finished with school, and another was taking advanced classes ready to leave school. Bren was their last child who they would go through this sad experience with.

Except, Bren wasn't sad. She was excited to go to Hogwarts (not the leaving California part) and have adventures like her sister and brothers before her. Ron and Hermione had always been the ones to reassure their children that everything would be ok. Now, Bren was promising Ron that she would be back in a few months and squeezing Hermione's hand to comfort her. This was something that they loved about Bren but they also worried about her because of it. Bren was brave and always willing to trying something new. She was their little daredevil and as much as they were glad that they would know she wasn't sitting on the Hogwarts Express terrified, they were worried about the trouble she would get into because of it.

Ron and Hermione were a mess as they said goodbye to her. As soon as Bren turned away, Hermione sobbed into Ron's shoulder. Their last baby was gone.

Going home was difficult as it had been over twenty one years that they had had the house to themselves. Sure, there were those times when all the kids were at their friends or at the grandparents but this was different. It would be months before they would have some of their children back in the house.

Hermione wasn't quite sure what to do without a mess to clean up or special dinners to cook because Nolan and Bren were vegetarians but Willa and Ryen weren't. Hermione now came home to make dinner only for two and she only had to clean up after herself and Ron.

Ron didn't know what to do when he got home from work without his children to keep him busy. There was no one who wanted him to play catch with the Quaffle or go over articles for the Gazette. He now had a only a wife at home…he couldn't even remember far enough back when they had their own apartment together.

Somehow they managed to comfort each other. After the first two weeks, they began getting used to life as a couple again. One night they would rent a movie and spend the night in, another they would have friends over and Ron would grill, other week nights they would work late and come home to just fall asleep together, some nights they would even go out, and on weekends they would take drives to the beach or shopping or visit their Willa and Nolan in England…sometimes they even stopped at Hogwarts to check in on their youngest two.

It took time but they were finally used to being a married couple again.

-Everyone knew that it would happen from the first fight – except for Ryen and Fee. Ron and Hermione saw some of themselves in the kids. The arguments about unimportant little things that only mattered to them and the need to "one-up" the other brought back memories. Ryen and Fee had their own unique and individual personalities but they bickered and fought just like his parents before them.

Ryen and Fee were much more stubborn than Ron and Hermione or it could have been that they knew each other their entire lives. Whatever the reason, it took so long for the relationship to finally happen that after a while people began to doubt that it would happen.

Finally on a weekend visit to Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione were more than surprised to find their son's hand interlocked with Fee's. Hermione got the story from Fee, Ron got the story from Ryen, and they both got to hear it from Bren's perspective.

"Mum, I think they're gunna make it." Bren said as she walked her parents to the grounds of Hogwarts. "The way that they look at each other it's like the way that you and daddy look at each other."

And because their twelve-year-old daughter could spot it, they knew it really would last forever.

-It was Ron's forty-fourth birthday party and (upon his request) everyone made a big deal out of it for him, including Nolan who brought his mystery girl to the party. Everyone speculated who the girl might be. Ryen kept his mouth shut but listened with some amusement while everyone else guessed.

Finally Nolan showed up. His hand was interlocked with a pretty blond girl. She had warm brown eyes and a friendly smile…that's why no one recognized her at first. Then it came to them. Willa realized it first.

"Gemma Malfoy?" She looked embarrassed after she spoke.

Hermione noticed the apprehension on Nolan's face. As surprised as she was, she forced her mouth into a smile. "So you're the girl who can make my son smile like that." Hermione said. She watched Nolan's reaction. He smiled at his mother. Hermione even went a step further as to hug Gemma and invite her into the kitchen for something to drink. She loosened Gemma up by getting her to talk about all of Nolan's annoying habits. Honestly, Gemma was a good person and Hermione liked her no matter what her last name was.

Ron was in shock when Willa uncovered who Nolan's "Mystery Girl" was. He had gotten over the fact that it was the past that they dated but now they were back together. Ron was glad when Hermione stepped forward and took charge of the situation. He was in total shock. When she returned from the kitchen, Ron knew that for Nolan, he would have to make an effort to talk to her. He kept his distance until they got into a serious discussion about Quidditch. She was a Tornado's fan but Ron was still impressed that there was a girl somewhere who he could talk to about Quidditch besides his sister or his daughters. She wasn't Draco or Pansy in the least, she was ok, Ron decided.

-Willa was twenty-five when she had her daughter. Ron and Hermione, as much of a blessing that Willa was in their lives, were ecstatic that she hadn't had a baby or got married right out of Hogwarts. They really hadn't even imagined her relationship with Eli lasting that long. She always seemed like one who wouldn't settle down right away.

But after the first year it appeared to be true love…until six years later when their suspicions came to light and they were over. The way that they acted towards each other even though they had broken up prior to the life-altering news showed that they truly were meant to be. He was always there for her at the slightest problem and she pretended that she could do it all on her own but there was a part of her that loved every time that he showed up to help or fell asleep on her couch because it got so late.

Finley Faith Smith-Weasley brought both Ron and Hermione to tears. She was their first grandchild. She was perfect in every way. She looked just like her mother but with blond hair already growing in on her perfect little head. Her bright blue eyes were one of the Weasley trademarks, making sure that no one would ever doubt that she was a Weasley.

The morning after Finley's birth day, Ron and Hermione headed into Willa's hospital room with balloons, flowers, and teddy bears only surprised to find Willa asleep on the bed with Eli laying next to her. Their hands were interlocked. Ron and Hermione didn't need any explanation. They had already known that Finley was an amazing little girl who had inadvertently brought her parents back together.

-While their oldest child was a new parent, their youngest child was making a name for herself at Hogwarts. It wasn't uncommon for Ron and Hermione to get a letter home claiming that Bren had done something that she really shouldn't have. Her excuse was always "it was a dare, I had to do it". Bren was racking up the detentions…almost nearing Nolan's record high amount.

It was a Tuesday when they received a letter from an owl with the Hogwarts emblem on it. Hermione braced herself to see what Bren had done next but was surprised as she read on. The letter from McGonagall explained how Bren had begun an animal hospital after an illness had spread through parts of the forbidden forest and Bren recognized the symptoms. She helped Professor Sprout blend the medicine and then during a meeting with McGonagall she proposed her own animal hospital by Hagrid's to take care of the animals of Hogwarts.

As soon as Hermione put the letter down, smiling, her phone rang and an excited Bren began happily telling her the detailed version of what happened. When Ron got home, Hermione shared the good news with him. They were both more than happy that Bren had found something to put all of her extra energy into…that wasn't going to get her in trouble.

-Their second child was their first child to get married. Gemma Narcissa Malfoy did something to their son that made him smile often with that slightly glazed over "I'm in love" look in his eyes. Nolan just claimed he was a better person because of Gemma but Ron and Hermione knew that she just brought out the best in him.

Hermione bawled during the ceremony, watching her first son marry the girl he loved, made her incredibly happy. Ron smiled happily as he watched the union, since he was very proud of his son. Pansy Malfoy sat straight with her lips pursed and watched her daughter marry a half-blood. Draco Malfoy did not approve of his daughter's husband but, different from his father (who had disowned Gemma upon hearing the news) he walked her down the aisle and kept his thoughts to himself.

The in-laws didn't quite know how to act towards each other. Ryen made a silly best man speech that made Ron and Hermione laugh but Draco and Pansy frown with disapproval. Gemma gave in and chose emerald and silver as the theme for the bridal party that pleased her parents but Ron chose to come wearing gold and red.

The families clashed but, for the sake of the occasion, there were no major fights. This was, probably one of the only times where they would be in the same room at the same time.

-Ryen proposed to Fee on his twenty-first birthday. Ron knew about it ahead of time but Hermione screamed with joy when she got the phone call from an overly ecstatic Fee who was moving her things into Ryen's apartment. Hermione was mad that Ryen or Ron hadn't told her but she got over it quickly. She was happy that her baby boy was engaged.

They planned a long engagement and Ron and Hermione were ok with that.  
They had just gone through the stress of one of their son's weddings and they figured that a long engagement living with each other would do them good.

During the long engagement Ron and Hermione reminisced about their past and their wedding, while also looking forward to more grandchildren to join Finley in running around their house.

They also realized how fast their lives and their children's lives were moving. It felt like they blinked and their oldest had a child, their second was married, the third was engaged, and the youngest was in Hogwarts.

-It was March first and Ron and Hermione had just woken up, preparing to celebrate Ron's birthday. He had a smile on his face and a list of things that they would do. Until the phone rang and his smile got bigger.

"She's going to have the baby on my birthday!" he exclaimed, hurrying to the closet where he had stashed all of the baby gifts. Hermione was happily going on about her second grandchild and they hurried to London.

It was a long wait…Ron got worried that the baby would be born on March second. Finally Nolan entered the waiting room with a little blue bundle in his arms. It was eleven fifty-two.

"Dad," Nolan started. "This is Topher. Topher Ronald Weasley."

Ron took Topher Ronald into his arms and smiled at his first grandson. Tears dripped onto Topher's blanket but Ron just smiled and claimed that he was the best birthday present ever.

Hermione got to hold him next. She kissed his forehead and noted how much Topher looked like his father…and how much trouble that Topher would be, just like his daddy.

Both Ron and Hermione were excited to see Nolan go through everything that they went through with him. They figured that "now you see what we went through" would become a common phrase as Topher grew up.

-They never really thought it would ever happen. In fact, they figured that Willa and Eli would stay together forever without ever actually tying the knot. It seemed to be a fear of Willa's, actually wearing the ring and being forced into commitment. But it happened.

They were at the ShoreHouse when Willa called and informed them that she and Eli were getting married at a hall in London in two weeks.

Hermione was beyond happy. She loved weddings….especially when she got to watch her babies get married! She was having a blast helping Tonks and Fee plan Ryen and Fee's wedding.

Willa didn't want anything big. She just wanted to say her vows and then celebrate the union with her family, Eli's family, and their close friends. Hermione was ok with not planning an extravagant wedding…she preferred simple, herself. The part that she enjoyed most was taking Willa, Finley, and Bren shopping for their dresses (at the Ginny Potter store…all three locations). Hermione cried that day as she donned her dress on the wedding day. Her first little girl was getting married.

Ron had always liked Eli but when it came to the guy actually marrying his daughter, he felt that he had to properly speak to him about the situation. While the girls went dress shopping, Ron took Eli, Nolan, and Ryen to a Quidditch game. Ron calmly spoke to Eli about taking care of his daughter and granddaughter while Nolan and Ryen threatened Eli with all the magic they had. Ron tried to be strong as he escorted his first baby girl down the aisle on her wedding day. The only time he lost it and a few tears slipped out was when he danced with her at the reception. She had grown so fast. He made Bren promise that she would never get married.

-It was doubtful that the day would come when they would see Bren graduate. She seemed to have a bit of her Aunt Ginny in her – passionate about what she loved to the point where she would leave school to fulfill her dreams. But she walked across the stage as her name was called, wearing her red and gold cap and gown over the pale yellow sundress she bought with Hermione over the weekend. She smiled, stuck out her tongue and held up her pointer finger and pinky finger to the audience. Bren had graduated.

Hermione feared for her daughter a little bit. Bren seemed afraid and weary about her future of independence but Hermione knew she would be fine…Bren was just a little too free-spirited and daring and that was what worried Hermione. She watched Bren as she sat back in her seat next to Tabby and sighed. Her baby girl was going to have to experience the ups and downs of life, all on her own. All Hermione could do was be there when Bren hit the downs.

Ron smiled sadly while watching his little girl, his little Bumble B, graduate. He was very proud of Bren but he really wanted her to be his little Bumble B forever. He missed the days when she would run out to meet him when he got home from work, and drag him to the mini-Quidditch pitch down the road so they could play until Hermione called them in for dinner. He missed when she would write home from Hogwarts and tell him all about her care of magical creatures lessons or all the witty (and a little rude) things she said to Snape and Trelawney. He was going to miss Bren not being a child but he knew that if she had to grow up, he was proud of the woman that she had become.

-Ryen and Fee had waited three years to get married after having known each other their entire lives and being destined for each other. Finally it was time for "officialize" their relationship and make it permanent…well as permanent as it could get. The event had been planned down to the last detail including what color the flower girl's (Finley's) nail polish would be and the color of the lace that would be around the pillow, holding the wedding rings that the ring bearer (Noah, Penny and Lex's son) would be carrying. Being that Fee was a perfectionist and had high hopes for her wedding to go smoothly, it was the parents' job to make sure that everything went as planned while the bride and groom got ready.

Ron entered the room where Ryen was waiting for the service to begin. Ryen was pacing…just as Nolan had been before his wedding and Ron had been before his. Ron felt that it was necessary to speak to both of his sons before they got married. When he thought back to his wedding day and remembered his father coming to talk to him and making him feel better before he took a big step. Now he knew he wanted his sons to look back on their wedding days and do the same for their sons.

"Nervous?" Ron asked. Ryen was never one to hide his feelings well. "This is a big step." Ron noted.

"Yeah. It is…" Ryen trailed off, looking down at his wedding attire. "Dad, is it going to be different once we're married? I mean, we aren't changing lifestyles, she's just changing her name…but part of me feels like it's all going to change." Ryen looked up at Ron, looking afraid of the answer.

"Ry, I'm not going to lie, it is going to change." Ryen looked afraid. "…but for the better." Ron quickly finished. "Being married will change everything. There's having a family and buying a house…you'll have a lot of decisions to make together and bills to pay together. There are going to be difficult times but all of the good times will make everything worth it." Ron never usually spoke about love and marriage like that. It made Ryen smile and a little surer that he was ready to get married.

Hermione cried, just as she had when Nolan and Willa got married. Life seemed to be moving at lightning speed because now her youngest son was getting married. She watched Ron go to speak to Ryen, as he had done when Nolan got married. She smiled to herself and went to check on the bridesmaids, Willa, Bren, Penny, and Tabby. She could picture later on tonight, when she and Ron were lying in bed. She would ask him to tell her what he talked to Ryen about. He wouldn't tell her but she could feel safe that Ryen was not scared before his wedding.

-Their house in San Clemente had always been full. Even when Bren left for school, the children who were out of school were always back for visits and they brought friends. Once Ryen got out of school, he moved not too far away from where he grew up. He and his friends were always at the house, playing Ron's videogames and having Hermione cook for them. Then their children began to have children and the house was fuller than before. Finley loved being in California, visiting Grammy 'Mione and Grandpa Ron and Topher was just like his father, he loved to cause trouble when he visited.

Ron and Hermione loved that they always had family in their house but there were those few times when they could appreciate moments to themselves. They loved walking down to the beach almost every night to watch the sunset or having their Saturday nights every week, or even just meeting for lunch on occasion. Those were the times when they could just be with each other and really get the one on one time that they needed to keep their relationship going strong.

-The day that Bren showed up at their house for dinner and announced that she had quit her job at the animal healer's and would start her own practice, was one of the days when they were most proud of her. Ron told Bren the story of how he had come to start the Gazette – not the modified version he had told everyone that left out parts but the entire story. He started from the meeting with the Prophet Editor and the story about Uncle Harry. He even told her about how he had given up on everything and considered becoming a Maintenance Man. Then he told her how it was Hermione and Bren's aunt and uncles who had given him the motivation to start what has become an international success.

"I'm proud of you Bumble B. You never once thought about giving up because something you love let you down." Ron said. Bren smiled, not because Ron just told her that not many people – especially not Willa, Nolan, or Ryen knew the whole story but because her dad had given her the confidence that she had been loosing slowly since she had stormed out of the office with a box of her things.

Hermione sent Ron to the store to get Bren's favorite dessert to celebrate and as soon as he left, Hermione turned to Bren and smiled.

"He's really proud of you, you know and I am too. It takes a lot of guts to stand up for something that isn't right. You are your father's daughter, baby girl and that is something to be grateful for."

Hermione watched as Bren smiled and started discussing the plans that she and Ron had made for her practice. She was brought back to Ron's eighteenth birthday so long ago when he had the same gleam in his eye and spoke about the budding Gazette.

-Willa and Eli lived in the city of London with a beautiful, almost four-year-old when they bestowed Ron and Hermione with a wonderful gift, a second grandchild. Emersyn Hope Smith-Weasley (Emmy) looked exactly like her mother, Weasley Blues and all.

Now that Willa and Eli had more than one child and were married, people took it upon themselves to tell the newlyweds that they should move to the suburbs. Nana Ann was very serious about trying to convince Willa. Daily she would send clippings from the paper of houses for sale in her area. Susan and Zacharis constantly reminded Eli that after his brother Evan was born, they quickly moved to a suburb.

Ron and Hermione laughed when Susan and Zacharis tried to get them to convince Willa and Eli. They knew their daughter and knew how much Willa loved the city. Nothing would make that girl move from London and take her daughters from the city and Eli seemed to love the city too.

-Holden Nikolas was born and according to Hermione, he looked exactly like Ryen did when he was born. Holden was born with the Weasley Blues and his head was bald. He would soon be able to change his appearance at will but in his normal look, he looked just like Ryen with a bit of Fee mixed in.

Ron loved having a fourth grandchild. It was one more grandchild to spoil and another grandchild that was almost guaranteed to be the successor of the Gazette. He held Holden Weasley in his arms (when Ryen actually let go) and promised Holden that he could come to Grandpa and Grammy's house whenever his parents were being too strict.

Hermione promised Holden that he had two very good parents that loved him, an uncle that loved him, two aunts that loved him, two cousins that loved him, and two grandparents that would spoil him. She held onto him and smiled as she watched her son and his wife who were in love. Their love had produced her beautiful grandson.

-Six months after their fourth grandchild was born, they were blessed with another. Nolan and Gemma had another son. Xavier Ryen Weasley was born. He too had red Weasley hair like his brother but instead of the dark brown eyes that Topher had, Xavier had bright Weasley Blues. Xavier looked exactly like Nolan and Ron. This was something that the in-laws were not too happy about. They had secretly hoped that Gemma wouldn't have any children so that Malfoys and Weasleys would not be tied by blood but when Gemma had her children, they could do nothing but put away a large sum of money for Topher and Xavier just as they had for Ella and Tristan's children. They purchased gifts and sent them to the hospital as well as made a point to visit at their home, out of respect for their daughter and grandsons.

Ron and Hermione could have put a large sum of money in the bank and sent plenty of gifts but they preferred to be there. Actually at the hospital, Ron was able to calm Nolan down about raising two children and Hermione could sit by Gemma's side and help her through giving birth while Nolan sat on the other side. Ron and Hermione preferred to be there for physical support opposed to the other grandparents who sat in the background on their fancy chairs and offered money.

-Ron and Hermione were thankful every time their children had a child that their children were older than they were. They loved each and every one of their children and never once regretted them but Ron and Hermione wanted their children to fulfill any dreams they had before they started families.

It was a little hard to accept when Bren discovered she was pregnant at only twenty-three but they supported their youngest baby through every step of her pregnancy. Hermione went with her to all of her doctor's appointments and helped Willa, Tabby, Ruby, Harlow, Grier, and Sasha plan the baby/wedding shower. Ron bought a mini Gazette t-shirt that everyone wore on casual Fridays (and all of his grandchildren had) and he walked Bren down the aisle when she was six months along.

Bren was happy and although her relationship seemed to be moving a little too quickly, Ron and Hermione let go of any doubts they had when their grandson was born. Aden Jakob was the most adorable baby (just like all of his cousins were). After seeing their grandson AJ with his parents, Hermione and Ron put their faith in Bren and TJ's relationship and welcomed their new grandson into the world.

-Hermione sat at the table in her backyard as she waited for everyone to arrive. This was the spot that she had sat in umpteen times throughout the course of her time in California. She found it a comfortable place to write her books or grade papers, a comfortable place to stargaze with Ron or talk to him about anything on her mind, a comfortable place to sit and watch her children play and now a comfortable place to sit and watch her grandchildren play.

Ron exited through the sliding glass door to the house. He was carrying two cups of iced tea in his hands. He placed them down and sat next to his wife of almost forty years. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek, a gesture that could still make him smile. She was beautiful. Her chestnut brown hair was let down over her shoulders and her warm eyes looked happy and excited. She wore a simple black sweater over a white top and a pair of denim capris and her bare feet rested on the chair next to her.

He began to speak and she listened as he spoke with passion about something that was important to him, the Gazette and everything it had become. She smiled more and watched his facial expressions. His ginger hair was beginning to get noticeably lighter on the top but she would never tell him that. The passion in his eyes brought out the blue in his Weasley Blues and his tanned arms moved around as he gestured while he spoke. He wore a simple pair of khaki shorts and an orange Chudley Cannons t-shirt, dressed casually for an average Sunday.

She responded to the statement he made and he sat back, satisfied that his story was followed.

It was quiet but just for a moment. There was distinctive popping and the "floosh" of the fireplace. The sliding door slid open and their children and their families all piled through the door with their significant others in tow.

Willa was smiling. Her straight brown hair fell above her shoulders and her Weasley Blues were shining with joy. She was tall with an average figure (that she worked very hard to keep it from looking like she was turning thirty-eh hem something). She wore a black skirt and a black and white top. She had on flip-flops that she quickly discarded in the grass. Willa Elizabeth Weasley was a popular author who wrote about fantasy worlds where the magic was not only limited to wands. She worked part-time at R and H Books while she worked on her next novel. Willa's hand was laced with Eli's hand and they both looked happy.

Eli's blond hair was covered mostly by a Cannon's cap that he wore very often when he wasn't working. His green eyes were looking at Willa and he wore a smile on his face. He had on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, his casual weekend attire for when he wasn't working. Eli worked for a Wizard broadcast station in London where he worked on the WESPN station.

Finley Faith and Emersyn Hope hurried to hug Grammy 'Mione and Grandpa Ron. Finley was thirteen with a wonderful personality that made people smile whenever she was around. She began to tell Ron and Hermione about something that happened at Hogwarts. Hermione smiled when she saw excitement in Finley's Weasley Blues as she spoke about the Herald; it reminded her of Ron's eyes. Finley's blond hair was pulled back into two braids and she wore a white top with a patterned skirt and flip-flops. She smiled as she spoke about how Uncle Ryen was going to take her to work with him and then finally gave her sister a chance to speak.

Emmy was nine going on thirty-nine. She spoke like an adult and tried to act like an adult as much as possible. Emmy had dreams of working as an Animal Healer just like Auntie Brenna. Emmy had her curly brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Her Weasley Blues were looking all around the yard as she said hello to all of her cousins. She wore a white sundress and she had platform flip-flops – it was her way of being more adult.

Nolan had already begun cracking jokes. His messy red hair looked as if Gemma had tried to tame it slightly but Nolan had his father's hair that wouldn't go down. He stood tall wearing a pair of jeans and a Cannon's t-shirt. Nolan had progressed from being a writer at Merlin's Pants to an editor who wrote a funny column, loved by everyone. Nolan laughed and put an arm around Gemma.

Gemma was looking up at him with her warm brown eyes. Her blond hair was pulled into a loose ponytail and she was smiling. She wore a denim skirt with a brown top. Gemma's café had become a popular place for writers. It wasn't uncommon to see Gazette writers or novelists to be seen in her café. Gemma turned to her children and reprimanded them for being loud.

Topher Ronald was eleven, a first year at Hogwarts (a Gryffindor). He was not as much trouble as Nolan was as a child but Topher caused his share of trouble. He had a fascination with History of Magic that Nolan swore Topher got that from Grammy 'Mione because Nolan hated History of Magic. Topher looked just like Nolan, down to the freckles that covered his nose but he had his mother's eyes. He wore a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt.

Xavier Ryen was seven. He preferred not to cause any trouble unlike his older brother. Xavier was very interested in Quidditch. He preferred to watch, play, or read about Quidditch. The Chudley Cannons were his team and he hoped to one day play for the team as Keeper (his dream was to turn the team around and lead them to a winning streak). Xavier looked just like Ron when he was a kid – tall, ginger hair, and the Weasley Blues. He had on his Quidditch hat, Quidditch t-shirt, and a pair of shorts.

Zayden Arthur was the most like Nolan out of his brothers. He was only five and the troublemaker of the family. He preferred to prank his cousins as opposed to his brothers because his brothers would probably beat him up if he dared to prank them. Zade had the mischievous Weasley Blues just like his father but he had his mother's blond hair. He had plans on following in the footsteps of his Daddy. He wanted to be just like him. Sometimes, Gemma would find him trying to write out his funny jokes on the computer like Nolan does. Zade had on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt advertising his favorite show.

Ryen was in a conversation with Fee. He was smiling as he watched her start to get irritated with him. Ryen's brown hair was cut short and still, gelled down to keep it neat. Since he was six and wanted to go to work, he had always tried to keep his hair as neat as possible. His chocolate brown eyes looked lovingly at Fee as he tried to assure her that there was nothing to be upset about. He wore a pair of khaki shorts and a simple gray Gazette t-shirt. Ryen was the Copy Editor, inline to become the Editor-in-Chief of the Southern California branch of the International Gazette.

Fee's face softened and she smiled at Ryen. She had let her brown hair down from her tight bun for the day. She wore a white top and a flowy blue skirt. Fee worked five days a week as the photography editor for the Gazette and still managed to spend as much time with her family as possible. Hermione, Willa, Gemma, and Bren claimed her to be Super Mom. She wrapped her arms around Ryen and then greeted Bren.

Holden Nikolas was seven. He had his father's eyes, and that was the feature he rarely changed. Currently he had jet black hair with red streaks for fun. He wore a red t-shirt and shorts. Holden had dreams of becoming an Auror like Grandma Tonks but since he couldn't do magic until he was eleven, he focused on the studying part of becoming an Auror.

Andromeda Lynn was five. She looked very much like her mother but she loved changing her look very often. Currently she had long blond hair that fell down her back in curls and her eyes were a bright pink. She wore a pink dress that matched her eyes. Andee was nothing like her parents. She did not do well with organization and punctuality. She was very unique and individual. At five years old, she already had shown her talent for unique painting.

Lennon Zackary was four. He was the spitting image of Grandpa Remus when he chose not to alter his look. He had the light brown hair and hazel eyes but his personality was just like his dad. He was already trying to start reading and he had a little bit of Auntie Willa in him when he would make up his own stories to tell his little brother and parents. Lennon was wearing the same Gazette shirt as his dad with a pair of shorts.

Atticus Orion was only one and a half. He was crawling around the yard exploring. His features changed frequently because he was still getting used to his powers. At the moment his hair was blue green and his eyes were orange. He was a very curious baby who always was exploring the world around him. Even at just a year and a half old he seemed to enjoy causing trouble. He had a little bit of Uncle Nolan in him.

Bren lifted her youngest child out of TJ's arms. She smiled at him and he kissed her. They had been together for eight years and it was obvious that they were meant to be. Bren's ginger hair was pulled back in a braid. She wore a pale yellow sundress and flip-flops which she kicked off her feet immediately. Bren's practice was doing well – she had a special wall dedicated to pictures of patients and letters from her patients' owners. All of the other doctors in her practice were very big on being accommodating and caring to the patients. Bren also spent a good deal of time at home with her children, TJ, and Atlas.

TJ smiled at Brenna as she carried their one-year-old to see Ron and Hermione. He had his dark hair combed neatly but due to the wind it was beginning to get messy. He wore a simple pair of shorts and a t-shirt. TJ taught Charms a few days a week at SCWC and when he wasn't teaching he took on the job of trying to keep Bren's practice organized since she was against doing it herself. He also liked taking his sons to play or watch Quidditch.

Aden Jakob was five. Being exposed to many different kinds of animals his entire life, AJ loved animals. He had a pet dog named Wolf, a fish named Shark, and a cat named Lion. AJ loved helping out at his mom's practice and he also loved when Grandpa Ron and Grammy 'Mione would take him to the zoo. He had Bren's ginger hair but he got his father's green eyes. He wore a Cannon's shirt, supporting the team that most of the entire family loved.

Tal Wyatt was three. He was the spitting image of his father. His interests included Quidditch and his toys. His toy broom from Grandpa Trey was his favorite toy. He also found himself in trouble often. He was starting to become more and more of a trouble maker. He was slightly influenced by his Uncle Nolan and his cousin Zayden. Tal wore a pair of shorts and the same shirt as his older brother.

Rylee Jane was one. She was resting in Ron's arms and giggling loudly. Ron claimed that she looked just like Hermione's baby pictures. Rylee giggled again and everyone smiled. She sure knew how to eat up the attention. She was an adorable baby with a bright future ahead of her with whatever she wanted to do. Rylee had on a pale blue sundress and a matching headband covering her curly brown hair. She called for her "Mama!" and Bren picked her up and she giggled again.

Hermione surveyed the scene. Finley and Emmy were playing with Rocky, Ron's chocolate Labrador and trying to figure out how to get their parents to let them get a dog; Ron, Ryen, and Fee were talking about the Gazette as usual; Willa and Bren were talking and laughing with Gemma; Eli, TJ, Nolan, and Xavier were discussing Quidditch; Topher was letting Zayden chase him around the yard; Andee, Lennon, and Tal had begun some sort of game; and Atticus and Rylee were crawling around the yard. They had all come for the biweekly family visit. Hermione smiled as Gemma pulled her into their conversation.

Ron looked over and locked eyes with Hermione. They both smiled at each other and the look in their eyes meant the same thing.

If any of their children saw, they would know it was their "I love you and we're really lucky because we're so happy" look.


End file.
